Google unveils major redesign for Google Pay for iOS and Android and partners with 11 banks to launch a mobile-first bank accounts service called Plex in 2021
Google is launching a major redesign of its Google Pay app on both Android and iOS today. Like similar phone-based contactless …
TechCrunchFrederic Lardinois
Context & Ripple Effects
Google Pay has been steadily widening from a tap-to-pay utility into a money hub: it replaced Android Pay in a global rollout back in 2018, reached desktop browsers and iOS that spring, and by August 2020 Google had signed six partner banks for digital checking and savings accounts inside the app. Today's redesign plus the 11-bank Plex partnership is the consolidation of that arc — one app spanning P2P payments, personal finance insights, deals, and actual bank accounts.
First-order effects
The 11 partner banks get a distribution channel to Google Pay's installed base without building their own consumer apps, while Google's redesigned app becomes the front end for balances, P2P transfers, and spending insights across both Android and iOS.
Second-order effects
Banks risk becoming balance-sheet utilities behind a Google-owned interface, shifting the customer relationship — and the data on spending behavior that powers deals and insights — toward the platform layer.
Third-order effects
If Plex had held, consumer banking would have consolidated further around platform front ends rather than bank brands; in practice the model proved fragile — Google scrapped Plex entirely within a year, following the departure of the executive who championed it, a caution for every bank that handed its storefront to a tech platform.
The trend: Consumer finance is being pulled toward platform-owned front ends, but Google's own reversal on Plex shows bank-account-as-a-feature partnerships are structurally shakier than payments integrations.
The new #GooglePay is even more rewarding. You can get cashback when you pay or refer friends, shop at your favorite brands, and more. 🎉 Get the app → https://gpay.app.goo.gl/xmpnPn https://twitter.com/...
Big Tech's push deeper into banking is alarming & totally unsurprising. @Google's new banking & payments biz will centralize sensitive information, increase the risks of data breaches and abuse, and bring new privacy & pricing concerns. https://www.cnbc.com/...
We've redesigned the @GooglePay app, starting in the US, making it simpler to pay securely, organize finances, save money + more https://blog.google/...
Anyone else not excited to give Google financial data in exchange for an app that makes it harder to pay people I know, especially when we don't want to be tied to google accounts? https://twitter.com/...
The new @GooglePay app can help you pay more easily, manage your money 💰 and discover offers from your favorite brands. Learn more about #GooglePay's mission to make money simple, secure and helpful for everyone ✨ → https://blog.google/... https://twitter.com/...
If Google had stuck out Wallet and partnered early on a la Simple with a real bank and built a personal financial management platform, it might have had something. This is just fighting over scraps now.
We're working with financial institutions to create Plex, a new way to bank in @GooglePay. Join the waitlist in the app to be one of the first to apply for a Plex Account. Learn more → https://pay.google.com/about/ https://twitter.com/...
There is a Stories-like feature in Google Pay. I am not kidding. You can tap through little bits of analysis on the Insights tab that aggregates all your banking info https://twitter.com/...
It used to be when tech went into incumbents' territory there was one (or two) killer features that made it better. Not sure that's the case with new stuff nowadays. Just more of the same. https://www.cnbc.com/...
One notable thing: Google Pay works on both iOS and Android (though of course tap to pay is Android only) Another notable thing: only works on one phone at a time and there's no web app.
Between Venmo, PayPal, Cash, credit card loyalty programs, digital only banks, and consolidation in online shopping / delivery, there's just no meaningful piece of the pie left. Not sure why Google feels the need to do any of this.
In 2021 Google Pay will offer full in-app only banking services for checking, other basic banking — actual banking offered by Citi, BMA, and some credit unions. The program is called Plex.
Google Pay has turned off all the personalization by default, but you can opt in to share a ton of data with Google for it to analyze in the app. Google says it'll never be shared with third parties or Google's ad targeting division.
Holy moly, this Google Pay relaunch is HUGE. It's taking on... every money app. Venmo. Mint. Shop. Apple and Samsung Pay. It can track banking, offer deals, scan barcodes for shopping. It's a lot. Maybe too much (data for Google, that is). Full story: https://www.theverge.com/...
It has a QR code scanner for sending money to and from people. There's also a feed of deal offers. when you add a deal, it associates it a linked credit card and when yo uuse that card, you get cashback into a Google Pay balance.
New tab called “insights” that lets you connect bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards to get an overview of your finances, like Mint or Simplifi. Show summaries of spending, lets you search for stuff like how much you've spent on clothes. https://twitter.com/...