Tez is now Google Pay; partners with Indian banks to offer instant loans

Google said it is partnering with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank to facilitate pre-approved loans to its customers. 

Google on Tuesday announced that it has rebranded Google Tez to Google Pay. Stating the reason behind the rebranding, Caesar Sengupta, General Manager, Payments and Next Billion Users Initiative, in an official blog post said that the company plans to unify all of Google’s payment offerings globally.

He added,

“We have learnt that when we build for India, we build for the world, and we believe that many of the innovations and features we have pioneered with Tez will work globally. The world has certainly taken notice of India’s digital payments success and our deep investments here with Tez. Many governments are asking us to work with them to bring similar digital payments innovations to their countries. To make this happen, we will be unifying all of Google’s payment offerings globally. Starting today, Tez will now be called Google Pay.”

Launched last September, Google’s Indian digital payments app Tez sees more than 22 million people and businesses using it every month.

Further, the blog claimed that since its launch, users have made over 750 million transactions with each one settled instantly and securely into a bank account. In total, these transactions are worth over $30 billion annually.

It also has close to 1.2 million Indian local businesses on its platform. While announcing this at its annual event for India, Google also stated that ‘it is partnering with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank to facilitate pre-approved loans to its customers, right within Google Pay’ in the coming weeks.

The official blog stated,

“In the coming weeks, these customers will be able to use Google Pay to take out a customised loan amount from their banks with minimal paperwork, and once they accept the bank’s terms, the money is deposited securely and instantly by their bank, into their bank account.”

In the coming weeks, Google Pay is also looking to bolster its partnerships with big Indian offline retailers including the likes of Big Bazaar, e-Zone, and FBB.