The Google Pay app now lets U.S. users make money transfers to India and Singapore thanks to integrations with Wise and Western Union.
Googleis jumping into the massive remittances market.
The tech giant's mobile payments service Google Pay announced Tuesday that users in the U.S. will now be able to send money to India and Singapore.
The company has teamed up money transfer firms Wise and Western Union on the feature, integrating their platforms into the Google Pay app. Users can choose between Wise or Western Unionto move their money abroad. Google will take a small cut of the cross-border transactions made through its app.
Google Pay launched a new version of its app in the U.S. last year, marking a push into banking services with the addition of checking accounts from lenders like Citi, as well as rewards and budgeting insights.
Google is one of many large tech firms pushing deeper into the financial world. Applelaunched its own credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachsin 2019. Facebookis making a number of moves in digital currency and payments. In China, Alibabaaffiliate Ant Financial and Tencenthave become formidable players in the digital payments space.
Still, these Big Tech companies have no apparent ambitions to become banks.
"We're not planning to become a bank or a remittance provider," Josh Woodward, Google Pay's director of product management, said in an interview with CNBC. "We work with the ecosystem that already exists to build these products."
Google's latest financial services push will see it enter the huge remittances market. The World Bank forecasts that remittances into low- and middle-income countries were worth $508 billion in 2020. That's actually down 7% from 2019, a decrease the bank attributed to the Covid pandemic's impact on migration.
The news is a big win for Wise. The London-based fintech firm, formerly known as TransferWise, is increasingly selling its platform as a service to banks like France's Groupe BPCE, Britain's Monzo and Germany's N26. Rival Western Union has been upping its digital strategy lately to ward off upstarts like Wise and WorldRemit.
Going forward, Google wants to expand its remittances feature into the 80 countries Wise operates in and, eventually, the 200 nations Western Union covers.
Money can make things awkward enough as it is, so the easier it is to pay for things, the better. And it doesn't get much easier than using Google Pay. This super simple payment portal app makes sending payments as easy as a few taps on your screen.
Once you have downloaded the Google Pay app on your iPhone or Android device, take a minute to add your bank's information, and a credit card, if you'd like.
To send money via Google Pay, follow these steps:
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How to send money through Google Pay
1. Open the Google Pay app on your iPhone or Android device and tap the button at the bottom that says "Send or request."
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Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:
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How to use Google Pay to make in-store purchases using your Android phone
How to set up and use Google Pay on your Android phone to make contactless payments at thousands of stores
'Can you use PayPal without a card?': Yes, you can — here are 6 things you can do on PayPal without a linked debit or credit card
Steven John
Freelance Writer
Steven John is a freelance writer living near New York City by way of 12 years in Los Angeles, four in Boston, and the first 18 near DC. When not writing or spending time with his wife and kids, he can occasionally be found climbing mountains. His writing is spread across the web, and his books can be found at www.stevenjohnbooks.com.
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