BackGoogle Tez app is not a digital wallet. Here are its key features
Built on UPI, Google's Tez app allows users, free of charge, to make payments straight from their bank accounts as it works with all the 50-plus UPI-enabled banks
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New Delhi: Google India launched Tez, a simple and secure mobile app for digital payments and commerce, built with the goal of connecting the next billion users in India. The app was officially launched by finance minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Monday.
Built on the Indian government-supported Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Tez allows users, free of charge, to make payments straight from their bank accounts. It is not a digital wallet, like PayTM, requiring a constant top-up. Instead, Tez works with all the 50-plus UPI-enabled banks, so that money stays in users’ bank accounts until they need to use it. Tez users continue to earn interest from their banks and have their deposits backed by bank security guarantees.
The app has been especially built for the Indian market and is available in not only English but seven Indian languages (Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu). Tez works in partnership with four Banks — Axis Bank Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, and State Bank of India (SBI) — to facilitate the processing of payments across the UPI-enabled banks. The app is available for download on Google Play (Android) and the App Store (iOS).
ALSO READ: Google Tez payments app goes Live for Android and iOS, here’s how it works
Google has also partnered with several phone makers like Nokia and Pansonic to pre-install Tez on their smartphones and is open to working with more smartphone makers to install the app. Introducing the new payments and commerce app, Caesar Sengupta, vice president of the Next Billion Users team at Google, said, “Tez was built for India first — and starts us on a journey to make digital payments simpler and more accessible to everyone. We want to combine the best of Google with the best from our partners...to supercharge digital payments and commerce for as many Indians as possible and help them get the most from every rupee."
Here are the current app features:
● Simple transactions on the spot: Tez’s Cash Mode securely sends money from person to person with just a few taps. By pressing and holding the cash mode buttons at the same time, two people using Tez are able to make a secure transaction in seconds without needing to share private details like phone numbers or account numbers. This happens through Google’s proprietary Audio QR (AQR) ultrasound technology that helps in pairing the phones.
● Pay anyone: Tez syncs with the contact list in users’ phones, in accordance with their privacy settings. This way users can start a transaction just by searching for a friend’s name or phone number. 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. The transaction history with each person is grouped together like a conversation — just like how Gmail groups emails together. This makes it easier to find a historical transaction, instead of going through long statements.
● Pay at offline and online businesses and get offers: Tez is accepted anywhere that UPI is accepted. When users shop at a Tez for business merchant (see more details below) they get access to tailored offers and smart reminders for upcoming payments. For businesses, Tez is initially open to those with an online presence and will expand to offline merchants in the coming months. PVR Cinemas and redBus are already integrated with the app while DishTV, Jet Airways and Domino’s will come on board in the coming weeks.
● Multiple security layers: Tez is backed by multiple security levels, including dedicated security systems offered by Indian banks, the National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI), and the Tez Shield — Google’s suite of security features, including a 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.
“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 — all built on the UPI infrastructure that NPCI and the Indian government have taken great initiative in developing," said Diana Layfield, vice president, head of finance & commerce products, Next Billion Users.
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