Google Explores Bank Accounts With Citi, Stanford Federal

Google is in talks with U.S. banks about offering checking accounts to its customers. The jointly-developed accounts could mirror the forms deployed in Asia.

Google has said it is working with initial partners – Citigroup and Stanford Federal Credit Union – on checking accounts for customers. The particular features and functions of the Google Pay-linked checking accounts are still being deliberated, but one working model could be Citi’s existing partnership with the messaging service WeChat in Asia, where Citibank customers make payments and complete other everyday banking transactions through the WeChat platform.

We’re exploring how we can partner with banks and credit unions in the U.S. to offer smart checking accounts through Google Pay, helping their customers benefit from useful insights and budgeting tools, said a Google spokesperson. Similar to rival Apple Pay, Google Pay allows smartphones to be used for purchases online and in stores.

Privacy and transparency are, and will continue to be critical priorities,” said Citigroup in a statement. A bank spokesperson quoted by FT said that it would control the banking relationships and that the accounts would comply with the same regulations as a traditional account.

Although mobile and online payments such as WeChat Pay and Alipay are already widely used in China, Silicon Valley companies are just starting to move into the highly regulated world of financial services in the U.S. Earlier this year, Apple and Goldman Sachs teamed up to launch a credit card, offering cash back on purchases of Apple devices and an iPhone app to track
spending.

Google’s new banking effort, code-named Cache, is the technology giant’s latest foray into the personal finance industry. Google Pay, which already has tens of millions of users around the world, is already popular in India.

On Monday, the technology firm announced plans to launch Google Pay in Singapore next year, partnering local banks DBS and OCBC. Our approach is going to be to partner deeply with banks and the financial system,” said Caesar Sengupta, Google’s general manager of payments.