MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Just because Google has ended a checking account pilot it conducted with one credit union as well as a bank doesn’t mean the tech giant is giving up on its plans to expand into financial services, as one new hire makes clear.
As CUToday.info reported, in October 2021 Google abandoned plans for its new Plex bank accounts--which it introduced in 2020 and on which it partnered with Stanford FCU—even though the other partner, Citigroup, reported more than 400,000 people were on the waiting list.
At the time, the company said Google Pay would focus on becoming a comprehensive digital wallet.
Now, Google has hired PayPal exec Arnold Goldberg to help reset its ambitions for banking and payments, FinExtra reported.
Google's president of commerce, Bill Ready, said Arnold's recruitment is part of a broader strategy to take a more nuanced approach to financial services and the payment industry, including cryptocurrencies.
‘We’re Not a Bank’
“We’re not a bank,” Ready told Bloomberg. “We have no intention of being a bank. Some past efforts, at times, would unwittingly wade into those spaces.”
Google wants to become the connective tissue for the entire consumer finance industry, not just certain partners, according to Ready.
Ready, a former PayPal's COO who joined Google in 2019, recruited Goldberg, who ran PayPal's merchant business, to become the VP for the payments and emerging market efforts. He is expected to play a key role in Google's entry into the cryptocurrency industry, FinExtra said.