Google Pay users in the US can now send money to users in India or Singapore, which marks the company's first foray into cross-border transactions.
The move comes as part of a new integration between Google Pay, Western Union and Wise. To send money internationally, users can search for the Google Pay user they want to send money to, tap “Pay”, and select Western Union or Wise. From there, follow the steps to complete the payment. However, this service is only for US Google Pay users to send money to users in Singapore and India, not vice versa.
From now until 16 June, Western Union is offering free transfers when sending money with Google Pay, and Wise will make the first transfer free for new customers on transfers up to $500.
“By the end of the year, we expect that US Google Pay users will be able to send money to people in more than 200 countries and territories through Western Union and to more than 80 countries through Wise,” said Google Pay product manager Viola Gauci in a blog post.
IT Pro understands that Google Pay users will be able to send money to anyone, even if they are not a Google Pay user, later in the year in the countries mentioned above.
Google Pay users
Gauci highlighted that people around the world send nearly $700 billion to friends and relatives in their home countries, which pays for healthcare, education and bills. She cited a Mastercard study which found that 73% of people regularly send money abroad, but in the last year, 38% of those surveyed reported greater involvement in international payments.
“This suggests that as the pandemic continues to create uncertainty, easing the financial anxieties of loved ones is even more critical,” wrote Gauci.
Last September, Google Maps brought in a new update, which it was trialling in Texas, to allow users to pay for parking through the app. The app already allowed users to register their parking session to get a push notification when the parking meter was nearly out of time. With the update, you can refill the meter using Google Pay once you get the push notification.
