Google launched “Tez” last September, an app for instant money transfers in India. At its annual event in the capital of New Delhi, the company announced that it is now rebranding the app to Google Pay.
Tez is based on UPI, a platform built by a consortium of India-based banks that allows for on-demand transactions between bank accounts used by individuals and businesses.
The company efforts to help digitize payments by announcing upcoming support for Google Pay in more than 15,000 retail stores across the country by the time the festival of Diwali rolls around in early November. That includes the likes of Big Bazaar, FBB, and eZone.
Also in addition, Google Pay will enable users to avail of pre-approved bank loans through the app; the company says it’ll only take a few seconds to enter the desired amount, choose repayment terms, and receive the money in their bank accounts. It’s partnered with Federal, HDFC, ICICI, and Kotak Mahindra Bank to make this happen, and the feature is slated to roll out in the next few weeks.
For people in other countries, Google Pay allows them to use their cards when paying for stuff in brick and mortar stores, as well as online transactions. In India, Tez has been about negating the need to carry cash and sharing bank account details for transferring money.
Now with this new move, Google is hoping it’ll be able to get more users to its payment services, leave their wallets and purses at home, and serve up oodles of data about what they’re buying.
The company also said that it already has 1.2 million small businesses on its platform, and it’s now trialing its merchant experience with a small number of them in New Delhi and Bangalore.
Google has also noted that 22 million people and businesses are presently using Google Pay in India with 750 million transactions logged since launch last year, it’s looking at an annual run rate of $30 billion in transaction value across the country.
