Sylvie Claire / October 2, 2021
Google is abandoning its plans to open bank accounts directly from the Google Pay payment application. The American company believes, after reflection, that it would be better to focus on providing digital support to banks and other financial service providers, rather than offering these services itself.
The special Plex accounts were initially to be offered in North America. Google wanted to do this with partners like Citigroup and Bank of Montreal.
Google Pay has been around since 2015. The mobile payment system, initially called Android Pay, now has about 150 million users in about 30 countries.
The decision not to move forward with Plex is mostly a setback for Citigroup, which had touted the collaboration with Google as proof of its ability to forge digital partnerships with large technology companies. The bank wanted to use the technology it created for the partnership with Google in agreements with other companies. On Friday, the bank said it respects Google's choice and looks forward to finding other opportunities to work together