Not an unsurprising move given the foreshadowing that has been happening amongst the big techies (not to mention constant speculation about the impending move). If I was an incumbent bank would I, with a crowd of my fellows, be at Panic Station today waiting for the 'end of an era train'? No... if I were Revolut or Monzo Bank who have just started pushing hard into the US would I be worried? I would certainly be apprehensive.
If I were Paypal or Venmo though... well I think I would be sweating a little.
This type of carry-on will upset the applecart in industries beyond the direct business of deposit-taking - if Google plays their (debit) cards right. Mind you, being a bank is a little different to almost anything else... so time will tell.
Oh and well done Citi Bank! I can only imagine that Westpac with their recent 10x Future Technologies investment will have a partnership like this on their Christmas wishlist for that new BaaS arm of the business!
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