Google has hired former PayPal executive Arnold Goldberg to run its payments division as the company eyes offering a broader range of financial services including cryptocurrencies.

Fast facts

  • PayPal has already incorporated cryptocurrency into its business, recently announcing it was exploring a USD-backed stablecoin for payments and supporting crypto payments on its popular payment subsidiary Venmo last year.
  • Google’s payment app, Google Pay, lags behind its main competitor Apple’s payment platform, which announced it was exploring cryptocurrencies late last year.
  • Google has already partnered with crypto firms like CoinBase and BitPay to store crypto assets in digital cards while having users pay in fiat currencies.