Google announced it will offer personal checking accounts next year through its Google Pay app, initially in partnership with Citigroup and a small credit union at Stanford University.

The project, codenamed Cache, expands on Google's efforts in consumer finance - a clear strategy for incumbent tech companies looking for new sources of revenue and opportunities to strengthen ties with users. Google said it has held initial talks with regulators, though it declined to specify which ones, about compliance issues related to the new checking accounts.