Google unveils payments app ‘Tez’

New Delhi, September 18

Technology giant Google today launched a new digital payments app ‘Tez’ for the Indian market that aims to make e-transactions simple and secure. The app has been designed for the Indian market and is powered by the government’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

Available for both Android and iOS (Apple phone) users, it allows users to make payments straight from their bank accounts.

“This is a product that is made for India. There are areas where India will leapfrog the West and one such case is payments and commerce,” Caesar Sengupta, Google V-P (Next Billion Users), said.

He added that Tez (7MB in size) will be available in seven Indian languages, including Bengali and Tamil, to enable users across the country to easily use the app.

“Our primary competitor is cash. The focus is on getting more people to use digital payments instead of cash. There is plenty of room for many players,” Diana Layfield, Google V-P, Head of Finance and Commerce Products (Next Billion Users), said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who launched the app, expressed hope that digital payment is going to pick up momentum as more advanced technology hits the market.

A lot of people went in for digitisation in terms of mode of payment more out of compulsion rather than finding it a more convenient method to transact, but that compulsion created a habit for many, he said, adding that it “is now bound to pick up again”. Rajan Anandan, V-P South East Asia and India for Google, highlighted that 300 million of the 400 million accessing internet in India do so on their smartphones.

“Over 650 million are expected to use internet by 2020 and Google’s mission is to build an inclusive internet,” Anandan added.

Sengupta said there are no plans to monetise the app in coming months and the focus is on growing usage.

In the next few months, players like Lava, Micromax, XOLO, Nokia and Panasonic will introduce devices with Tez pre-embedded on them. — PTI