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Google Wallet now backed by FDIC

Now that search engine giant Google has received Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC) backing for its mobile payments app Google Wallet, according to a Yahoo Finance report, cash stashed with the Google platform – which allows users to pay for in-store or online retail purchases or transfer funds via an Android phone – will be insured up to $250,000. 

Should Google go bust, consumers' funds are protected, as if held by a banking institution.

In a crowded marketplace, the added protection is intended to distinguish the offering and assure users of the seriousness of Google's financial services offering. Paypal, for example, is not FDIC insured, though it is backed by other safety measures and offers "zero liability account protections."

But, if Paypal or one of the other mobile payments providers should file for bankruptcy, customers would have to go through a bankruptcy court proceeding to get their money back. With FDIC backing, Google customers would be reimbursed within days, Yahoo reported.

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