Google Pay

Google Pay to launch digital bank accounts in 2021

Kyle Bradshaw | Aug 3 2020 - 6:54 am PT

Late last year, we heard our first inklings that Google was looking to get deeper into the financial world by partnering directly with banks. Today, Google and their first bank partners are announcing the arrival of digital bank accounts in Google Pay.

This morning, eight banks in the US, including BBVA and BMO, have announced that they are partnering with Google to offer digital-first bank accounts directly in the Google Pay app. As explained by BBVA, the financial side of these accounts will be managed by the partner banks, and “Google will provide the front-end, intuitive user experiences and financial insights.”

According to another partner bank BMO, the Google Pay app will offer built-in budgeting tools and “financial insights” exclusive to Google’s digital bank accounts. Unfortunately, we still have a bit of waiting to do, as these accounts and their exclusive Google Pay features don’t launch until sometime next year.

Google’s vice president of Payments Ecosystems, Felix Lin, shared the company’s excitement to begin these partnerships to offer better tools to our “new generation.”

Google is excited to work with BBVA USA in enabling a digital experience that is equitable for all and meets the evolving needs of a new generation of customers. We believe that we can use our technology expertise to benefit users, banks and the entire financial ecosystem.

Google also gave us a statement explaining that today’s announcement is an extension of their original ventures into digital bank accounts from Citi and SFCU, to six additional bank partners.

We had confirmed earlier that we are exploring how we can partner with banks and credit unions in the US to offer digital bank 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. We are excited that six new banks have signed up to offer digital checking and savings. In addition to Citi and Stanford Federal Credit Union, we will also be working with Bank Mobile, BBVA USA, BMO Harris, Coastal Community Bank, First Independence Bank, and SEFCU.

Interestingly, another recent Google Pay rumor was that Google would launch a branded debit card to be managed in the Google Pay app. So far, though, we’ve not gotten any confirmation that these digital bank accounts will have a special Google-branded credit card.