Google hires former PayPal exec to lead next steps with payments and crypto

Google has hired former PayPal executive, Arnold Goldberg, to take charge of its payments division to steer a new course for the business after a dead-end attempt to push into banking.

This hiring decision is a part of Google’s broader strategy to delve into a diverse range of financial services, including cryptocurrency, Google’s President of commerce, Bill Ready, told Bloomberg.

The changes come after a huge planning overhaul that took place last October after Google backed away from plans to expand into digital checking and saving services. Instead, the tech giant has opted to pursue bigger fish by aspiring to be the “connective tissue for the entire consumer finance industry, not just certain partners,” according to Ready.  

“Crypto is something we pay a lot of attention to […] As user demand and merchant demand evolves, we’ll evolve with it,” said Ready.

As a part of this new direction Google is taking, the company will focus more on being a “comprehensive digital wallet” that includes digital tickets, airline passes and vaccine passports, Ready said.