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Google Is Scrapping Its Plan to Offer Bank Accounts to Users (wsj.com)
71 points by elsewhen on Oct 2, 2021 | hide | past | favorite | 45 comments


Probably for the best with their history of customer support black holes and horror stories of falsely banned accounts in all their consumer products.

Google is one of the last companies in the world I’d trust to hold my finances.


Recently got my Adsense account banned, but did't use it since 2017, their ban system triggers randomly on any account:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28628849


It's one of the aspects that is in my cons column as I decide on a new phone. I'm waiting to see what the Pixel 6 turns out like, but at the back of my mind is the knowledge that if there is a problem with it I'll be shouting into the void that is Google's support organisation, and I'm just not sure I want that.


Anecdotal: Google store direct purchased hardware support has been good. Responsive support and RMA process if you need it. Obviously doesn't help you with your higher level account ban situation.


That's good to know. Their total inability to do customer service in general makes me twitchy.


"Dear John Q, your Gbank account and cards linked to it, have been frozen due to un-Googley activity.

The appeal you are thinking of submitting has also been proactively denied.

Enjoy your vacation."


Nah, Im more afraid of google building content-isesque system where random people can post claim to any ones money. And google trying to convince us its a good thing.


a google bank account would be as risky as holding cryptocurrency


With their willingness to kill products, my bank account is far from ever to be something I would slap the G brand on.


Their history of shoot first ask questions later would be concerning as well. (Regarding locking people out of their Google accounts.)

While I'm sure your bank could lock you out as well, you basically never hear about it. But with Google, there have been multiple high profile lockouts that show both 1) it can happen to anyone, and 2) getting access restored is slow, difficult, and not always successful. That's not the behavior that makes people feel like their money is safe.



My credit card issuer locked out my Visa after I bought some clothes from a French web site. They didn't notify me and I didn't find out until my card was declined at a restaurant, which was fairly embarrassing.

People get locked out of their financial accounts all the time and despite persistent rumors to the contrary, it is way more likely that your bank or credit network is using a blackbox AI to do it, with a shit vendor like Feedzai.


>My credit card issuer locked out my Visa after I bought some clothes from a French web site. They didn't notify me and I didn't find out until my card was declined at a restaurant, which was fairly embarrassing.

>People get locked out of their financial accounts all the time and despite persistent rumors to the contrary, it is way more likely that your bank or credit network is using a blackbox AI to do it, with a shit vendor like Feedzai.

That's not being locked out of your account. You weren't able to charge but, should you have had the need, you would have been able to log in to your Visa account online to diagnose the issue. You would have also been able to dial a number or email for support. With Google, you are indeed locked out of your account and every other account you authenticated with using your Google account. There is no phone number or email address. There is no support. The scenario you bring up pales in comparison to Google's behavior.


When that happens, I get a text message from my bank and all I have to do is reply "yes" to confirm the transaction was valid and re-enable the card. Even if your bank doesn't offer that convenience, the worst case is you call then and they fix it.

This is in no way similar to the account lockout behavior being discussed in the Google context, where Google is making irreversible decisions that you have little to no input or insight into.


And with cards, you're a call away from unlocking it or getting a replacement overnight shipped to you.

Good luck getting to speak to a human at Google. And when you do find one, they'll tell you they can't overturn the dumbass AI.


I actually get phone support with Google for the rather reasonable price of $1.99 per month, with Google One.


Google regularly issues permanent bans without explanation or recourse. That isn't remotely comparable to temporary lockout that causes you some embarrassment.


Similar to getting my prescriptions from Amazon. No thanks.


Just wait until Facebook opens a pharmacy!


Was this serious or satire? If you wouldn't get prescriptions from Amazon, why not?


Because Amazon has demonstrated little willingness to deal with their counterfeit problems, which extend beyond electronics and oven mitts to things like supplements and consumables.

The cavalier way they treat their supply chains gives me absolutely no confidence that they will treat prescriptions with the proper respect.


I don’t think Amazon is co-mingling RX like they do with FBA.


That's a big fat "maybe" and "yet". I wouldn't easily trust it.


It’s really not.


Amazon partnering with existing pharmacies seems like a very plausible step to me. Amazon storing inventory from those pharmacies in a single location also sounds like a plausible step to me. And then that's comingling that requires me to trust the absolute worst partner. With good reason to worry that these invisible companies might not have the best standards.

Which step do you think isn't plausible?

And I'm not saying I won't trust it, I'm saying I'd have to research it more and keep extra vigilant for any changes.


Not OP, but I probably wouldn't either. Mainly because I shop on Amazon, and don't want that data harvested and shoved in my face.

AMZ already does "helpful" things like recommend pants extenders when you buy a size down then a size up.

I'd hate to see what they recommend based on prescriptions, especially since many medications have wildly different use cases. If AMZ filled my prescriptions, they'd assume I'm an asthmatic with hives, neither of which are true.


I think a lot of people complain of knockoffs. I know my wife has ordered a very specific brand of prenatal vitamins off amazon once and got a knockoff.


from the brand storefront?

been wondering why people buy from random sellers and yet have a high expectation of them. or to put it another way: would the situation be the same when buying on ebay?

when i buy from a random seller on amazon, i have a low expectation of them. and i return items when not satisfied.


If it’s the same “SKU” they get commingled. Regardless of seller. You may think you are buying from a specific seller but you are not. All the same products are comingled.


If this hasn't changed, Amazon combines the inventory of different sellers. Even if you buy from a particular seller, you may get something from a different seller that may be a knockoff.


As Uw7yTcf36gTc said below, buying from the storefront is misleading. Your response seems unnecessarily combative.


Since this is (arguably) directed to me:

Others have given equally persuasive reasons, but for me, it's simply that it's too easy for Amazon to give away vast amounts of data on me, and why should I give them even more of it?

Secondly, the thought of one multi-trillion dollar company owning the entire economy is repulsive. Let some other players in the game, too. I'd rather break them up than make them even bigger.


Does Google actually have senior management? It just all seems to be random teams running around chucking ideas around and then sodding off after they've screwed it up. The place just seems to be in disarray at the top levels.


What's wrong with trying ideas? Would you prefer to work at a place that allows for ideas versus one where MBAs and accounts guide everything.


Why are those the only two options? I propose a third option: think through the idea and its success metrics; gather user feedback to iterate.

At least this idea was scrapped before they launched to customers, but the Google Pay debacle sounds like a lack of decent planning.


well afaik the founders havent spoken or written publicly for years...


With how many banking startups that are showing up with fairly polished products, Google really reminding us how much they struggle to execute on anything



Oh, how shocking! Google is scrapping a project! Someone catch me, I'm going to faint!


The only entities on the planet that thought Google Bank Accounts was a good idea, are Google and the US' 3 letter organizations.

Everyone else on earth wouldn't trust google with their finances even if Google were the last finance company on the planet.

Their history of interactions between themselves and citizens is abysmal. Their history of keeping products updated or even alive, is abysmal. Their history of making anti-human changes to their product to serve ads to those humans, is abysmal.

Google is an abysmal company, that does abominable things.

Who trusts Google? Not even Google trusts Google...


The sad thing is that many trust Google. It's not me though.



Your bank account was suspended because the algorithm deemed one of your youtube comments as misinformation.

Edit: Touching a nerve, eh?



They should just buy Wise




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