Google announced Tez, a mobile app — built on the Indian government-supported Unified Payments Interface (UPI) — for digital payments and commerce in India.
Users can download the mobile app on Google Play (Android) and the App Store (iOS).
Google said PVR Cinemas, redBus, DishTV, Jet Airways and Domino’s are some of the initial customers of Tez mobile app.
Industry reacts
Airtel Payments Bank on Sunday said it is the first payments bank in India to integrate the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on its digital platform.
Vodafone on Monday said its prepaid customers can avail full talktime benefit on recharges of Rs 30, 40, 50, 70, 90 and 100, exclusively on Vodafone’s mobile wallet service, M-Pesa. There are no limits to the number of times a customer can avail this offer.
Google digital payments
The free Tez allows users to make payments from their bank accounts. The app is available in English and seven Indian languages (Hindi, Bengali, Gujrati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, and Telugu). Tez works in partnership with four Banks — Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and State Bank of India (SBI) — to facilitate the processing of payments across over 50 UPI enabled banks.
Diana Layfield, vice president, Head of Finance & Commerce Products, Next Billion Users, said, “With Tez, we are not just building an app but working towards a digital ecosystem that brings together millions of smartphone users, small merchants, large businesses, and financial institutions.”
Tez’s Cash Mode sends money from person to person with a few taps. By pressing and holding the Cash Mode buttons at the same time, two people using Tez can make a transaction in seconds without sharing private details like phone numbers or account numbers. This happens through Google’s Audio QR (AQR) ultrasound technology.
Tez syncs with the contact list in users’ phones. Once a contact is on Tez, users do not have to add beneficiaries or enter bank account number and IFSC codes. If the other person is not on Tez or in the phone contact list, then users can still pay them with their bank account number or UPI ID.
Tez is accepted anywhere that UPI is accepted – even shopping at the corner store or buying online. When users shop at a Tez for Business merchant they get access to offers and smart reminders for upcoming payments.
Tez works with all 50+ UPI-enabled banks. Tez users earn interest from their banks and have their deposits backed by bank security guarantees. There is no need to reload a digital wallet.
Tez is supported by Google’s of security features, including machine-learning-based fraud detection engine, device level protection, including a Google PIN, and no sharing of phone numbers or bank account numbers via Cash Mode.
Tez for Business offers businesses new ways to unlock the potential of digital payments and engage their customers.
