Google cancels Google Pay-based banking service ‘Plex’ project

Google has stopped working on its Plex service, which intended to allow you to do your banking through the Google Pay app. The service should allow clients to sign up for checking or savings accounts presented by a variety of traditional banks that the user would then manage through the application. As per a report by the Wall Street Journal, Google canceled the project because of a series of missed deadlines and because an executive who pushed for the project left the organization.

At the point when Google released its updated Google Pay service last year, something they reported is that they will offer a mobile-first bank account called Plex. They were partnering with a few banks and financial institutions to offer a bank account with no monthly fees or overdraft charges. In any case, presently they have rejected plans to offer this and instead will focus on “digital enablement for banks and other financial services” rather than becoming a supplier of banking services.

Plex wasn’t intended to put Google in direct competition with banks, as per reports that came out before the organization uncovered the program and data from its official declaration. Instead, Google intended to band together with a variety of financial institutions that would have given accounts without monthly or overdraft fees and minimum balances. Like some other online banks, Google’s app would have allowed clients to set things like savings targets and automatic transfers. Some of the bank’s Google planned to band together with included Citi and SEFCU.

In an email on Friday, Google let The Verge know that it believes there’s demand from buyers for more straightforward ways to pay for things while shopping both online and in-person however that it will presently be focusing on “delivering digital enablement for banks and other financial services providers rather than us serving as the provider of these services.” It’s conceivable, then, at that point, that we’ll see some of Plex’s features appear in Google Pay sooner or later — or we may simply see Google proceed with work on its updated Google Pay app.

A Wall Street Journal report says that Google is rejecting those initial plans to collaborate with financial institutions like Citi and the Stanford Federal Credit Union. The idea for the Plex product was to have a superior experience for users with regards to mobile banking and have an account that is mobile-first instead of mobile too. Yet, a Google representative has now said that they have understood that consumer demand is for “simple, seamless, and secure digital payments” regardless of whether it’s intended for online or in-store transactions.

This follows the departure of Caesar Sengupta who was VP and head general manager of Google payments and was administering this project. He left recently and began his financial tech organization called Arbo Works and even recruited some of his team members from Google. While they didn’t explicitly specify this as a justification behind rejecting Plex, it most likely had a major influence on this decision.

Google Pay launched a revamped app earlier this year also, using a new codebase initially developed in India. It followed the WhatsApp model of using your mobile number as your identity and shut down the Google Pay website functionality. It as of now not assumed various accounts and users expected to make new contact lists again for sending cash. Sengupta left before they had the option to absolutely redo the entire system.

While there are then again different alternatives for individuals who want online banks with fair apps, it’s heartbreaking to see that Google’s canceled this project. In addition to the fact that it would have given more traditional banks incentive to move forward their mobile app game, however, a major feature like this getting axed before its release doesn’t assist with Google’s reputation for not staying with products it launches. In any case, it’s better than Google put a stop to it now in case it would not have been focused on it — as a previous Google Wallet debit cardholder, managing changing how you pay for things is much even more pain rather than, say, tracking down a new way to read RSS.

Google said late last year that it was working with almost a dozen credit unions and banks, including Citigroup, for inclusion in its Plex project for its Pay mobile app available on Android smartphones.

The Pay app permits clients to pay for transactions, send cash to friends, and store loyalty cards, among other advantages.

Around 400,000 individuals had registered on a waiting list for Plex, as per the Wall Street Journal.

At present Google Pay is wrecked as certain countries are as yet on the old version while some are in the redone system as of now. With this most recent development, or rather non-development, it’s unclear what the future holds for the mobile payment service.