First Apple, then Facebook, now Google. It seems like all the big players are doing it. No, not horrible things with your personal data (though that’s also happening). Nope, Google’s got designs on more money than it already has, with plans to open bank accounts from 2020.
Apple started it!
The project is called Cache, which is a clever name on… several levels. Well done, Google. The plan is more than just a multi-part play on words, though. Google plans to team up with Citigroup and a Stanford University credit union to be able to offer banking services. To Americans. It’s not showing up here any time soon — besides, Discovery’s already trying that here.
Google, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, has promised that it won’t sell user’s financial information. Which is about what we’d expect from anyone expecting us to trust them with our cash. But Google, historically, has been all right with user data. If they’ve made any majors errors with it, they’ve kept it well out of sight.
The services the company plans to offer are basic, at least at first. A checking account (we’d call it a cheque account here) isn’t quite as ambitious as a credit card or an entire cryptocurrency but that also means fewer mistakes can happen to your financial life. But, as Engadget points out, Google may face resistance from regulators and the American government. Cache isn’t a sure thing just yet.
Source: Wall Street Journal