Following last year's debut of the Apple Card, a new leak reveals that Google is planning to get into the physical card game, too.
Google is working on a new debit card that would include a physical card as well as a virtual version for paying with your phone. A new report from TechCrunch claims that Google is developing its own physical card and associated checking account along that'll be co-branded with different bank partners such as Citi and Stanford Federal Credit Union.
This new card could become the foundation of Google Pay. This app allows you to make mobile payments with your existing credit and debit cards, but a debit card from Google could be useful because it could better tie into your Google account and give you a physical card for places that don't accept mobile payments. Meanwhile, Google could see its own card as a way to improve its ad business, among other possible benefits.
Leaked images show both the Google's card in an app, allowing the user to add money to it or transfer cash out. You can make payments with your Google card using your phone to tap to pay, and it's expected that Google's card will also have a virtual card number for online payments.
The app shows info on recent transactions, and when you tap on a particular payment, you might be able to see where the transaction happened on Google Maps.
The physical Google card could look similar to an Apple Card, according to today's leak. It's said to include branding for both Google and the partnered bank, and we can see a chip included as well. If you lose your card, then you could lock the physical card and order a replacement while still making payments with your app and virtual card number.
It's said that you'll also be able to lock your Google card account entirely if a malicious party gets access to it.
Leaked screenshots show that the settings for this Google card include a Privacy option that'll let you "Decide what information you share". You can also access your account details, change notifications, change your PIN, and more from this Google card's settings.
There's no word on when this Google card might launch. When asked about it, Gogle only said that it's "exploring how we can partner with banks and credit unions in the US to offer smart checking accounts through Google Pay, helping their customers benefit from useful insights and budgeting tools, while keeping their money in an FDIC or NCUA-insured account."
This isn't the first time that Google has explored offering a physical debit card. It launched the Google Wallet Card way back in 2013, allowing users to load cash onto a physical card that could be used at places where NFC-based mobile phone payments weren't accepted. It never really took off, though, and Google killed the Wallet Card in 2016.
Now that the Apple Card seems to be doing alright, it's no surprise that Google wants to try its hand at a physical payment card again. While not a true Apple Card competitor since Apple has a credit card and Google's is a debit card, this could still get more people using Google Pay.
Would you use a Google Pay debit card?
