Google sues to stop the US from monitoring it like a bank

Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced on Friday it had placed Google Payment Corp. under federal supervision, reports Reuters. Google reportedly filed a lawsuit to block the CFPB’s order, which could result in routine inspections and monitoring like those imposed on banks.

The agency found that Google’s error resolution and fraud prevention processes pose risks to consumers, citing consumer complaints about Google Pay Balance and Google’s peer-to-peer payments. Those complaints, which Google’s lawsuit claims are “unsubstantiated,” according to The Washington Post, include that the company didn’t seem to fully investigate fraudulent charges and didn’t “adequately explain” the results of those investigations.

The CFPB says its finding that Google should be supervised doesn’t mean the company is “guilty of wrongdoing.” It also notes in its order that Google Pay and the P2P platform were discontinued earlier this year.

Google spokesperson José Castañeda provided a statement to The Verge:

This is a clear case of government overreach involving Google Pay peer-to-peer payments, which never raised risks and is no longer provided in the U.S., and we are challenging it in court.

Update December 7th: Added statement from Google spokesperson José Castañeda.