OBSERVATIONS FROM THE FINTECH SNARK TANK

Bloomberg reports that Goldman Sachs is delaying a checking account offering that it had planned to launch in 2021. According to the article:

“Goldman Sachs is reconsidering how to launch a long-delayed product for the masses as senior executives wrestle with cost overruns. For more than a year, the firm’s consumer-banking arm has strained to ready online checking accounts that will let users set up direct deposits and pay their bills online—a key step toward the Wall Street titan’s goal of building a digital bank of the future .”

The article goes on to report:

“Goldman leaders have been weighing whether to shelve the new account’s retail blitz until 2023, and instead open the platform in a more limited way, to private-wealth clients and some other existing customers, according to people with knowledge of the discussions. That would save the firm from spending big on marketing in a year in which the online platform, known as Marcus, has seen losses accelerate. The company’s leaders have yet to make their decision.”

Does Anyone want a Goldman Sachs Checking Account?

There are plenty of consumers who would be interested in getting a checking account from Goldman Sachs (or Marcus, its retail banking arm’s brand). As I wrote back in February 2020:

“Cornerstone Advisors asked consumers if they would open a Marcus checking account when it launched and what they would do with the account they already have. Overall, 8% of respondents said they’d open a Marcus account, but 60% of that group would keep their current checking account open, making the Marcus account an ‘accessory’ account.”

Just Kill the Damn Thing

If I could offer one bit of advice to Goldman Sachs regarding its planned checking account product, it would be this: Just can the whole project.