If you store a ton of money on your Google Wallet, then you can probably rest a bit easier tonight. According to the latest reports, Google Wallet funds are now FDIC-insured. In other words, if Google ever goes bustor the banks holding Google funds go bustthen the U.S. government will have your back. Or, at least, it'll be able to protect up to $250,000 at said banks.

Although you won't find a statement in Google Wallet just yet indicating the change, nor has Google gone public with a blog post or other announcement about the move, a Google spokesperson confirmed the new policy to Yahoo Finance. According to the unnamed person, Google will be holding Google Wallet funds in various banks that are themselves FDIC-insured. Thus, the funds in one's Google Wallet will also be FDIC-insured, to a point.

Google didn't allegedly offer up any additional details about the switch, nor did said representative indicate whenif everGoogle might make that news more public.

The move is an interesting one for Google, as it's unclear just how many people end up storing huge sums of money in their mobile payment applications. In other quasi-banking services like PayPal, sure, but in specific mobile payment apps? We doubt most people put more than a Starbuck's card worth of money on their apps, not hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Still, there's nothing to be lost by having one's funds FDIC-insured regardless of how big or small the sum is. It's a feel-good move on Google's part; we don't know what it might be costing the company, if anything, to go this route instead of treating Google Wallet funds any other way. Google Wallet, like other similar apps, aren't legally required to have the FDIC looking after their fundsas Yahoo Finance reports, these services are considered "non-banking institutions." They're more often used by people for money transfers rather than money storage.

As for why companies like PayPal don't bother with FDIC insurance, the company released a statement to address the issue.

"PayPal provides our customers zero liability account protections if there are unauthorized payments and buyer protections if the item they purchase is not as described or does not arrive as promised. The safety and satisfaction of the people who use PayPal will always be our top priority," the statement reads.

"While it is true that PayPal balances are not FDIC-insured, it's important to note that this insurance is intended to insure the savings in people's bank accounts. Our customers do not use PayPal in this way. This is because it is not required to store a balance in a PayPal account to use PayPal and it's free to withdraw any funds that may be in the account. For customers who do hold a balance in their account PayPal adheres to the same Regulation E consumer protection laws as banks."

Your best bet, if you're at all concerned about your money evaporating if companies like PayPal ever unexpectedly go away, is to just transfer your outstanding balance out to your real bank whenever you get a chance. It's as easy as that.

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