Google has let go of plans to introduce Plex, the mobile-first bank account system it announced in August 2020, that would have been integrated into Google Pay, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The bank account system was set to launch this year but met setbacks, namely the coronavirus pandemic, but also the April departure of the Google Pay executive at the head of the project.
Caesar Sengupta was succeeded by Bill Ready, a former PayPal executive who joined Google a little over a year earlier. Sources said Ready set a new course, out of concern Plex could make other banks think that Google was out to compete with them since it played a lead role in building the product.
Banking regulators supported Plex and didn’t play a role in its demise, other sources said. Nevertheless, Google informed regulators about its plans to shutter the project before it told any of its banking partners. As late as this week, several banks were under the impression that the project would still move forward. BM Technologies very recently said its Plex accounts would arrive in late 2021 or 2022. “Google and BMTX are excited about this opportunity and are committed to this partnership,” the banking platform said in an email.
The WSJ noted that there was an appeal for smaller banks of working with Google and accessing the company’s know-how and tech-savvy user base. Small banks lack the funds to build the kind of feature-filled smartphone apps their larger rivals offer and their customers want. Plex could have levelled that playing field.
For Citigroup, Plex was supposed to help overcome a relatively small bricks-and-mortar presence. Jane Fraser, who ran Citigroup’s consumer division before becoming CEO earlier this year, appeared in a promotional video for Plex. “It’s even a little bit fun,” she said. A Citigroup spokeswoman said the bank plans to pitch other accounts to potential customers who signed up for the Plex waiting list. The bank, she said, would look for other ways to work with Google in the future.
Citigroup was adding about 10,000 people a week to the waiting list, which had reached around 400,000, evidence to executives that the strategy was viable, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Last November, Google said it had signed up more banks, including BMO Harris and the Black-owned Harbor Bank of Maryland, and would start opening accounts this year.
