Fortune, Nov 18, 2019: Why Every Company Wants To Look Like A Bank—Without Becoming One
Apple has Goldman Sachs. Google now has Citigroup. Uber, Venmo and Square all have lesser-known or undisclosed banks propping up their consumer-finance forays.
Yes, in these days of Apple Card and Facebook Pay and, soon, Google checking, every tech company seems to want to become a bank. The appeal is obvious: Handling their customers’ personal finances gives Big Tech new streams of revenue, of course, but also an opportunity to embed themselves more deeply into the financial behavior—and sensitive personal data—of their customers.
