Equipment Credit Available (ECA)
Use this page to view details about the Equipment Installment Program (EIP) including eligibility, qualifications, and definitions.
Equipment Installment Program (EIP) & JUMP!
Equipment Installment Program (EIP)
- EIP provides qualified customers credit that can be used to purchase devices or accessories and pay for them in monthly installments.
- Everyone pays the same price for a device when they purchase from T-Mobile, whether paid in full at the time of order or with EIP. This includes taxes and fees.
- Device pricing may vary at third-party sales locations.
- EIP pricing tiers can be found in Atlas order systems.
- The amount of Equipment Credit Available (ECA) is determined by several factors specific to the customer’s account:
- Financing options/CRP key
- BAN tenure
- BAN type (Account Type and Sub Type)
- Total number of active, eligible subscribers
- Current balance of financed devices on the BAN / Equipment Credit Balance (ECB)
- If a customer is delinquent, they will show no ECA available. Check Atlas or Tapestry to ensure there are no associated accounts that are delinquent.
- Customers may not be able to use all of their ECA on a device purchase, depending on the device being purchased. See Down payments below.
- Available credit may not cover an entire purchase and the remainder will be added to their down payment.
Example: If a customer has an ECA of $300 available and wants to buy a device priced at $500, the system requires an upfront payment of $200 and finances the remaining amount of $300. - New activation customers are limited to purchasing only one device on EIP per Value or Bridge to Value Classic/Legacy line.
- Device purchases for non-activations (upgrades) are only limited by the customer's available Current Equipment Credit Limit.
- Changes to ECL Limits are only allowed in the specific scenarios. Only Managers and above have access to override/temp double ECL.
- Consumer Credit and Activations team cannot change or re-run a customer’s credit nor increase a customer’s ECL.
- Review Temp Double EIP for complete details.
Disclosure of financing data:
- Never discuss a customer's CRP key or how it impacts their potential equipment credit or device down payment amounts.
- Only disclose ECA when discussing whether the customer has enough available credit to complete the device order.
Example: Mr./Mrs. [Name]>, based on the amount of credit you have available to finance the new [Device] today, you will pay $XX.XX, which includes out of pocket costs and taxes, and the remaining balance of $XX.XX will be financed over 24 months.
Additional details
- EIP information can be found in Account overview: Atlas.
- CECL and ECA will display as $0 for non-EIP eligible customers.
- Check upgrade system for EIP eligibility option will be available in Samson and Atlas for accounts with 20 or more lines.
- ECL cannot be increased by any department.
- Customers put down either 50% or 0% depending on their credit risk profile.
- 50% down on accessory purchases for less-qualified customers
- $0 down on accessory purchases for well-qualified customers
- To be eligible to add accessories to EIP in Care or Retail, the accessory price must be greater than $19.99 and the combined purchase of eligible accessories must be $49 or more. EIP minimums may not apply on web and app orders.
- Select accessories may not be available for EIP.
- Accessories purchased on EIP can be processed as a standalone transaction.
- The amount of a device EIP is not factored into the $49 minimum; it must be all accessories.
- JUMP! upgrades and EIP for accessories transactions must be processed separately.
- EIP for accessories is 12 months.
- Local sales taxes apply to EIP payments.
- Final monthly EIP payment could be $1.00 higher per accessory.
- Business customers (including small business) initiating an EIP may not be required to pay a down payment at the time of purchase.
- The down payment is billed to their account and does not require upfront payment in those situations.
- The down payment appears on the first bill after the order.
- Monthly installment payments begin on the second month's bill and are billed in 24 monthly installments.
- If a down payment is required, it is collected at the time of the order.
- Orders can be shipped to the address specified by the authorized user requesting the upgrade.
- Forever Upgrades have ended and have been replaced with Yearly Upgrades.
- Yearly Upgrade customers on Go5G Next or those who have the Yearly Upgrade SOC on their account can upgrade every year, snag an EIP payoff, and stack with an eligible phone promotion when they trade-in their existing phone. For additional details, see the Yearly Upgrade page.
EIP eligibility
- Only the Billing Name or listed authorized users are eligible to initiate EIP. Authorized users can only initiate EIP if accounts are seven or more days old. This does not apply to business accounts.
- Phone-first devices, smartphones, mobile broadband products, and accessories are eligible for EIP. Some devices are not eligible for EIP because of their already low price.
- MPEC values cannot be posted here because each use of EIP is a separate request for credit and is not a promise of credit. Rely on the values in Atlas and the EIP Summary screen to determine eligibility.
Ineligible plans and accounts
- HSI only accounts
- No Credit Check (SCNC) and prepaid accounts
- No Credit Check (NCC) accounts
- Retired Classic Individual plans
- Account must have a physical, domestic U.S. billing address. Accounts with a foreign billing address, P.O. box, or military address (Incl. Army post offices (APO) and Armed Forces Pacific) are not eligible for EIP.
- Accounts must be current.
- Delinquent, ladexed, voluntary/involuntary suspended accounts (except lost/stolen) have their ECA set to $0. The ECA will restore once payment has posted.
- Line-level suspensions do not impact the ECA.
- Accounts suspended for lost or stolen may use EIP with no restrictions.
- ECA is opened immediately once accounts are restored from military or seasonal suspend.
- Customers with a future-dated activation are not eligible for Equipment Credit line until the line is activated.
- Special-Dealer and Special/Contractor account types are not eligible for EIP.
Ineligible upgrade channels
- Indirect program RPS locations including National Retail and Costco Warehouse (orders physically fulfilled in warehouse)
Exception: Costco Direct Delivery and Costco.com, Military locations, and EIP for Indirect through RSL are eligible.- Costco Direct Delivery (ship-to) is fulfilled by Costco employees in-warehouse using T-Mobile EIP systems.
- Costco.com redirects customers to t-mobile.com to complete orders using standard T-Mobile EIP processes.
- Atlas Add-A-Line. Instead, see Add a line: DASH.
Credit risk profile
- T-Mobile performs an evaluation of the customer's credit risk profile during device purchase transactions. This evaluation determines available EIP pricing.
- Review Issues with financing to understand how to resolve common customer disputes with available financing.
- Well-qualified customers pay lower capital cost reductions and have a higher amount for their monthly payments.
- Less-qualified customers pay higher amounts due up front based on the devices they choose and a lower amount for their monthly installments.
- Less-qualified customers will automatically be moved to Well-Qualified when requirements are met.
JUMP! Upgrades (EIP + Protection 360™)
Customers who have Protection 360™ and an active EIP are automatically eligible for the JUMP! Upgrade program.
- JUMP! 2 allows customers to upgrade to a new device once 50% of the device cost is paid.
- Devices must be purchased through authorized T-Mobile channels.
- Pre-ordered devices can be used as a JUMP! upgrade, if customers are eligible at the time for pre-orders.
- JUMP! devices can be MDU unlocked following standard procedures. See Mobile Device Unlock requests.
- Wearables, tablets, and IOT devices are eligible for JUMP!
- Customers can JUMP! from a wearable to a tablet, hotspot, or another wearable device.
- Customers cannot upgrade from phones to tablets/wearables/IOT devices or from tablets/wearables/IOT devices to phones.
- If customers move lines from one account to another, their JUMP! feature transfers to their new accounts automatically.
- Customers who take ownership of accounts or individual lines during a Change of Responsibility (COR) can keep their JUMP! features (including legacy).
- Customers who transfer EIP balances along with the line being moved can elect to keep the JUMP! option on their accounts.
- When participating in the JUMP! program, customers must trade in the same device or tablet they financed through EIP.
- Legacy JUMP! 1.0 features are no longer available to add. These features allowed customers to upgrade twice every 12 months, instead of when the EIP is 50% paid off. See Legacy JUMP! 1.0: Retired features support.
Additional details
- Return new JUMP! upgrade device purchases using standard Buyer's remorse policy.
- Returned devices must be in good physical condition. See Device condition checks.
- Return devices with all device parts, such as SIM drawers or the LG V60 dual screen (if purchased with the device).
- If customers perform a remorse return:
- They are not eligible to perform another JUMP! upgrade on the original device. See Order support for JUMP! for details.
- The device return does not reset JUMP! eligibility.
- The original EIP continues to bill each month until the final installment is charged or until the device has been returned.
- JUMP! customers are still required to trade-in the original device to Assurant from the original JUMP! order.
- Customers are blocked from performing any additional JUMP! upgrades on the MSISDN until the JUMP! upgrade device is returned.
- JUMP! RMAs do not expire. Do not issue any adjustments toward the equipment plans on the account.
- To replace a recent remorse return, follow the standard upgrade order flow. Customers must use the shipping label created during the original JUMP! upgrade to return the original device.
- To resolve common issues with JUMP! upgrades, refer to Upgrade Dashboard order issues & errors for post-order support for JUMP!.
- Legacy JUMP! 1:
- Legacy JUMP! 1 customers who move between accounts can maintain their JUMP! tenure on the next account only if their JUMP! SOC is not removed during the move. If the SOC is removed, they can only have JUMP! 2 SOCs re-added during qualifying events.
- If a customer should have the Legacy JUMP! 1 feature but it's missing, work with your leadership to add the SOC using Legacy JUMP! 1.0: Retired features support and Missing JUMP! SOC process.
Upfront and monthly billing
- Customers may be eligible for offers that impact on their down payments or monthly installment payments.
- Special discounts on down payments (i.e., instant discounts) lower the EIP down payment while keeping monthly installments the same.
- If discounts reduce down payments to $0, the remaining discounts apply to the Equipment Credit Balance (ECB).
- Individual customers on less-qualified credit will automatically migrate from non-well-qualified to well-qualified pricing when eligibility requirements are met.
- Less qualified: These customers pay a higher down payment based on the device they choose, and a lower amount for their monthly installments.
- EIP billing and monthly installment details are found in the Equipment Installment Plan Details section of customers' bills.
Payments
Down payments
- Customers may be required to make down payments on their device purchases based on an evaluation of their credit risk profile and/or promotional pricing for a specific device.
- Any amount that exceeds a customer's ECA is added to the down payment.
- During the handset upgrade flow, the down payment must be paid at the time of purchase for all Care, Ship-to, and In-store purchases.
- Taxes for the entire purchase amounts must be paid as part of the down payment.
- Customers can choose to make a larger down payment than required, which reduces future monthly installment payment amount. It does not reduce the number of installments.
Exception: JUMP! customers cannot change their required down payment amount. - Select well-qualified customers pay the lowest available down payment, and less-qualified customers pay an increased down payment amount with lower monthly payments.
- All new activation, add-a-line activations, retail ship-to orders and in-store fulfillment handset upgrades require payment of the full down payment amount at the time of purchase.
- Retail ship-to orders must be processed using credit card only.
Monthly installments
- EIP device purchases consist of one down payment (if required) and 24 monthly installments.
- Accessories purchases consist of one down payment (if required) and 12 monthly installments.
- Monthly installment is determined by the total equipment cost minus the down payment divided by the amount of monthly installments.
- Monthly EIP installments are charged at the subscriber level and are associated to device IMEIs, make/model, and the mobile numbers used to purchase the equipment.
- EIP monthly installments appear on customers' billing statements.
- Additional EIP payments can be made at the subscriber level. See EIP one-time balance payments.
- EIP installments are added to customers' outstanding balances approximately two days before their bill cycles close.
36- & 30-month EIPs
- Select devices and promotions may allow EIPs for 36 or 30 months.
- Customers may have EIPs on 36-month, 30-month, or 24-month terms, depending on devices and promotions.
- Customers cannot change EIPs to longer or shorter terms.
- JUMP! impacts:
- JUMP! requires 50% of the device be paid off before customers can perform their next JUMP! upgrade.
- Customers can make additional payments towards their EIP to reach the 50% threshold early.
Customer notifications
Confirmation statements
Confirmation statements notify customers of changes to their existing EIP terms and are sent to the email addresses used for those transactions:
- EIP balance payments at the device level (line-level) either in part or in full.
- Plan-level EIP balance payments on multi-device plans where evenly distributed amounts are greater than or equal to individual device balances.
Example:- Customers who have two phones on one EIP, and request EIP payments of $100.
- Balance on device A is $150 and the balance on device B is $50.
- A $100 payment will result in $50 being applied to both devices evenly resulting in device B being paid off.
- Device trade-ins where credit amounts are applied at the device level on multi-device EIPs.
- Transferring one or more EIP balances on a multi-device plan to other accounts.
- Returning EIP balance payments and/or device trade‑in credits that exceeded a single monthly installment, resulting in a moved‑back EIP end date.
- Returning one or more devices on a multi-device plan.
Paid in full & disclosures
EIP paid in full
- A copy of the original EIP with a PAID stamp and payment date will be created and retained in My T-Mobile and TESA for customers to access once their EIP is paid off.
- This PAID stamp will appear 30 days after an EIP is paid off in full. This is business as usual based on the existing process in DFS.
- This solution will be applied to all paid off EIPs across 25 states, and meets the regulatory requirements for the following states: IL, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, HI, ID, IA, KS, ME, MA, MT, NJ, NY, ND, PA, PR, SC, TN, WV, WI, AL, MO, NE.
Disclosure agreements
The attached agreements, which are available in English and Spanish, provide examples of EIP legal agreements customers receive. Agreements will differ by channel.
Seller & Creditor address
Customer Care, Virtual Retail, and My T-Mobile
- Seller/creditor address will always provide the Customer Relations address.
- Seller's Signature will be “T-Mobile Financial LLC” for all states with the exception of the Puerto Rico market.
Retail
- Seller/creditor address will always be the store location.
- Seller's Signature will be “T-Mobile Financial LLC” for all states with the exception of the Puerto Rico market.
- Retail disclosure will not have Buyer’s Signature electronically stamped with the name, IP address and email address as is present on Virtual Retail/Care orders.
- This sample should not be used for manual order processing.