“Can a global investment bank build a durable direct-to-consumer digital bank — and if not, what's the graceful retreat back to deposits and wealth?”
Marcus launched in 2016 as Goldman Sachs' first foray into digital consumer banking, starting with unsecured personal loans and high-yield savings, then expanding into SMB credit lines through partnerships with Amazon, Walmart, C2FO, and Nav. A planned Marqeta-powered consumer checking account was built but never broadly launched. In October 2022, following ~$1.2B in projected consumer losses, Goldman reorganized and folded Marcus into its Asset & Wealth Management division, effectively ending the standalone consumer-bank ambition. The remaining product footprint today is essentially the high-yield savings deposit business (US and UK), while the SMB lending partnerships were wound down.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs discloses Goldman Sachs Bank USA (in-house) as its banking provider, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Goldman Sachs Bank USA (in-house).
Marcus by Goldman Sachs's cards are issued through Marqeta.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs's lending and capital products are provided by Goldman Sachs Bank USA (in-house).
Marcus by Goldman Sachs connects to bank accounts through Plaid and Flinks.
Marcus by Goldman Sachs uses Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking (in-house) for FX and cross-border payouts.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 5 layers in Marcus by Goldman Sachs's stack: Banking / BaaS (Goldman Sachs Bank USA (in-house)); Card issuing (Marqeta); Lending (Goldman Sachs Bank USA (in-house), Marcus personal loans (unsecured, US), Marcus SMB lines of credit via Amazon Seller partnership ($10K–$1M), Marcus SMB lines of credit via Walmart Marketplace ($10K–$75K) and 2 others); Open banking (Plaid and Flinks); FX & payouts (Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking (in-house)).
Marcus by Goldman Sachs is founded in 2016 and headquartered in New York, NY, USA.
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Marcus by Goldman Sachs and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.