Google may be planning to bring a chat feature to Tez. According to a report by Economic Times, the company is slowly rolling out the feature to the Tez's app's user base. “We’ve added a feature to Tez that allows you to send simple messages back and forth to your contacts about the payments you make,” said a Google spokesperson said. The feature should be available to all users over the coming days.
The feature comes just a few weeks after WhatsApp started testing a payment feature. The UPI-based payments feature reportedly started showing up for iOS users with version 2.18.21 and Android users on version 2.18.44. It’s possible that the addition of a chat feature on Google Tez could expedite the rollout of WhatsApp payments to all users.
Late last year, Paytm also introduced a chat feature on its app. Called Paytm Inbox, the feature let users chat as well as send/request money. Users can also send photos videos as well as recall messages that have already been sent.
Coming back to Google Tez. The service was launched in September and by November, it accounted for 70 percent of UPI transactions. Since launch, the company has also added additional features such as bill payments. Earlier this month, the company announced that it had partnered with over 80 billers to bring payments for water, gas, DTH and more. These include major utilities providers such as Reliance Energy, BSES, and DishTV. Further, the app will also send timely notifications, reminding users when their bill is due.