Google Wallet balances to get FDIC protection

April 19, 2015

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Google Wallet

If you use Google Wallet and keep a balance of funds available in your account, Google is taking steps to help make things a little bit safer for you. Google is now moving funds stored in Google Wallet accounts into FDIC-insured bank accounts. Hopefully this extra insurance would never be something users have to take advantage of, but if they do they now have insurance up to $250,000 on the funds on deposit.

Normally users would not keep a balance in Google Wallet, using the service merely as a pass-through mechanisms. This is similar to how other services like PayPal operate. However, it is possible for users to end up with balances in their account. Sometimes this may be intentional as the user wants funds to be available in the account. Other times it may be because the user has assumed funds would be moved automatically.

Google Wallet competitors like PayPal and Venmo currently do not offer to put user funds in FDIC-insured institutions. However, PayPal does offer zero liability protection against fraud which would cover most typical situations where a user's funds might be at risk.

Does the addition of this extra layer of protection make you more likely to use Google Wallet?

source: Yahoo! Finance

Jeff Causey Author

Raised in North Carolina, Jeff Causey is a licensed CPA in North Carolina. Jeff's past Android devices include an HTC EVO, a Samsung Note II, an LG G3, and a Motorola Moto X Pure Edition along with a Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1. He currently uses a Samsung Galaxy S8 and (very rarely) a Nexus 7 (2013). He is also using a Verizon-branded Motorola Moto Z Play Droid supplied by his job. Jeff used to have a pair of Google Glass and a Moto 360 Sport in his stable of gadgets. Unfortunately, his kids have all drunk the Apple Kool-Aid and have i-devices. Life at home often includes demonstrations of the superiority of his Android based devices. In his free time, Jeff is active an active runner usually training for his next marathon, owns a Mazda MX-5 Miata, and plays Dungeons & Dragons. Jeff has three grown kids and a golden retriever.

1 comment

gildude says:

April 19, 2015 at 4:42 PM

Of course people keep a balance in Wallet. That is the only way to use the Google Wallet card – which is the only way to use wallet out in the wild at most stores (since most still don’t have NFC payments). Remember, to use the card – there must be a balance from which to draw. Only the NFC payments can come from a linked credit card. Use of the Google Wallet card is not allowed to use a linked credit card.

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