Google to offer checking accounts
Would you trust Google with more of your financial data?
Consumers could soon be paying their bills with Google checking accounts as the tech company works in partnership with Citigroup and a credit union at Stanford University.
"We're exploring how we can partner with banks and credit unions in the US to offer smart checking accounts through Google Pay, helping their customers benefit from useful insights and budgeting tools, while keeping their money in an FDIC or NCUA-insured account," a Google spokesperson told FOX Business.
It's set to launch in 2020.
"If we can help more people do more stuff in a digital way online, it's good for the internet and good for us," Google executive Caesar Sengupta said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal about the project, called Cache.
Google's branding will take a backseat to the other financial institutions and let them handle many of the banking activities it cannot do without a license, The Journal reported.
OUTRAGE MOUNTS OVER GOOGLE'S ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE DATA
FILE - This Sept. 24, 2019, file photo shows a Google sign on the campus in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
"Our approach is going to be to partner deeply with banks and the financial system," Sengupta said. "It may be the slightly longer path, but it's more sustainable."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 167.63 | -8.35 | -4.74% |
Google has not decided whether to charge fees on the checking accounts, but it is open to partnering with more banks, Sengupta told The Journal.
Google decision to tell the public about Cache comes mere days after the revelation that, unbeknownst to patients and doctors, the company has been collecting personal health data with health system Ascension.
Other tech companies are moving toward financial services, too — and getting access to more information about individuals in the process.
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Facebook's cryptocurrency Libra hasn't launched yet and suffered a setback in October, when partners including Paypal and Ebay pulled out of the Libra Association.
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