A few thoughts about the premature demise of Google Plex

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay (with added blue color tint).

Officially announced in November 2020, Google Plex has been cancelled before it could even launch as per a recent Wall Street Journal report.

The service would have offered checking and savings accounts with various financial institutions (including Citigroup) inside the Google Pay environment to U.S.-based consumers.

Various media outlets have commented as to why the tech giant decided go that route: the departure of a key executive, missed deadlines, and even the so-called the “Google graveyard”.

But perhaps the rapid acceleration of digital banking (in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic) made Plex a weaker product/market fit than initially thought. Both incumbents and neobanks have ramped up efforts to meet such strong demand. One thing is for sure: digital / mobile banking is a more crowded market than two years ago when the Plex blueprint was initially conceived.

Did Google get cold feet? It sure seems like it. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Plex get resurrected (albeit in a new form), especially if market conditions improve in the near future.