Google re-launches Google Pay - including offering checking & savings via partner banks next year. Partner banks includes behemoths, like Citi, but also small/local players like Stanford Federal Credit Union, Harbor Bank of Maryland, Coastal Community, & First Independence.

Could be a lifeline for small/local banks: world-class UX and national distribution (if they're willing to 'share' customer ownership with Google).

Google gets its two favorite things: scalable platform revenue and data.

These small banks need Google more than Google needs an *individual* small bank - makes me wonder about the commercials and if this could turn into a 'race to the bottom' for charter holders.

Perhaps, as small/local banks plot their path forward, they should pause and consider what happened to another 'legacy' business upended by tech: the news media.

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Google Pay’s massive relaunch makes it an all-encompassing money app