Google is reportedly planning to enter India’s payment space with an app called Tez, which is the Hindi word for fast, and according to the report Google could launch the app as early as next week Monday. What’s more, is that Google seems to have registered trademarks for the name Tez in at least two other countries, which are Indonesia and the Philippines, meaning Google could be preparing to introduce Tez into those markets as well and perhaps expand it beyond those markets to additional countries, though at this time there is no confirmation that it will make it past India.
The details of Tez are still mostly unknown including what all the features are that it will offer to users, but there are still some particulars to make note of. It’s said that Tez will support a unified payments interface, a payment system in India which allows people to transfer funds immediately from one bank account to another. Tez is also already supported by India’s government and by various other payment services, and popularity/support for it may grow so it kind of makes sense that Tez would support this system as well if Google wants it to be a widely used service.
Of course Google wouldn’t be entering the Indian payment market unchallenged, it has plenty of competition from companies which have already made headway in entering the market or have already established a foothold in the country. WhatsApp, Truecaller, and Flipkart are all offering their own services for payments, and there are numerous mobile wallet solutions in the country as well in addition to banks releasing their own wallet options. With Google moving into a market where it isn’t the first or at least one of the first to offer a service of this kind doesn’t necessarily mean it will be an uphill battle for Google. The search company is massive after all, and it has plenty of resources, know-how, and experience in mobile payments in other regions, which should be enough for it to at least get things rolling. Google also has a large presence in the country through its Android operating system, so there are plenty of users for it to tap into.