Google eyes hot Indian payment space, sets to launch app ‘Tez’ on Monday

Google is all set to make an entry into crowded payment space with its own payment product Google ‘Tez’ on September 18. According to a report by The Ken, it is likely to be as similar as company’s global product - Android Pay. Google is expected to partner several large banks including public sector banks.

Tez will leverage Unified Payments Interface (UPI), developed by the NPCI. An application filed with the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks, outlines that Google Inc applied a wordmark for ‘Tez’ during last week of June this year.

As per the report, apart from its own UPI-based service, Google ‘Tez’ will also integrate third-party payment wallets such as Paytm and MobiKwik including others. Unlike UPI and wallets, Tez will be platform agnostic and can be used across desktop (via Chrome widget) and mobile.

Google has been trying to get into digital payment space from past three years. A couple of years ago, it tried to get an approval for wallet license, however, it didn’t materialise owing to regulatory concerns.

Besides Google, Uber and Amazon are also in queue to launch UPI enabled payment option in the next two-three months. WhatsApp and Facebook are also planning to launch with United Payments Interface in India but they are still in the discussion phase. WhatsApp is reportedely testing beta version for UPI-enabled payment option.

Entry into payment space will help search giant to access transaction related data which it can leverage in selling its advertising related vertical. Google will tap in Tez for purchasing content from Google Play Store, Google Play Music, movies and TV.

These are the obvious and instant use cases for Tez. Building loyalty and driving repeat purchase are huge challenge for any wallet company. Going forward, it would be interesting to see how Google proceeds in digital payment landscape.

The mobile payments market is growing rapidly in India. A report by Research and Markets found country’s mobile wallet market grew 48.85% during the period of four years (2012-2016). This growth was fueled by rising smartphone penetration, increasing mobile internet penetration and rising disposable income. The trend is expected to continue.