A few months ago, we heard a rumor that Google has its intention to start offering its own branded checking accounts this year. In partnership with Citibank, a project code-named ‘Cache’, which works more or less like a recently launched Apple Pay Credit Card. According to the reports, now Google is testing its own Smart Debit Card by which users can make and track their purchases.
According to TechCrunch’s report, the checking account and the debit card will soon be enabled by the company which makes the online and offline payments easy to its users. Sources close to the development shared a first look at what the Google debit card may look like. The card will include a chip, the name of the user along with the partner’s back name. A QR Code can also be seen in the image, which might enable the user to access account details by scanning it within the Google Pay application.
Not just that, users can also access their account balance, transaction statements, and ability to block the card and other similar features via the Google Pay application itself. Google Pay app will allow its customers to easily track the purchases including tools like Google Maps and its vast database of retailers to contact or navigate a previously visited store. As of now, we do not have the information on whether Google will be offering any perks or benefits for using its smart debit card.
By looking at the images attached above, one can clearly understand the features which this card is going to bring to the table. The idea behind the Google smart debit card fundamentally differs from that of Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs. The main difference here is that Google will not involve in opening a line of credit like Apple, but will only issue a Google smart debit card through a checking account. Although the reports did not mention anything around the launch of the debit card and full customer release, Google did release a statement to TechCrunch noting:
“We’re exploring how we can partner with the banks and credit unions in the United States to offer smart checking accounts through Google Pay, helping their customers benefit from useful insights and budgeting tools while keeping their money in an FDIC or NCUA insured account. Our lead partners today are Citi and Stanford Federal Credit Union, and we are looking forward to sharing more details in the coming months.”
Additionally, 9to5Google seems to have found evidence of the existence of Google smart debit card. The Chrome Gerrit source code includes a new flag which refers to Google issued card and how the browser can push the auto-fill suggestion for the same. The aforementioned Chrome Flag is called ‘#autofill-enable-google-issued-card‘ and is first surfaced on Gerrit back in the month of March. The source code does not confirm any new features but will be linked to your Google account.
Details on this Google Pay smart debit card are pretty scarce at this moment. Whatever Google’s plans are, the launch of this smart debit card will be pushed back due to the health concerns in the wake of COVID-19 Pandemic.
