Google??s Secret New Gmail Bill Pay Feature
Source: pymnts
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Google’s digital payment efforts have taken a new turn as reports reveal the company is working on a new way to make use of email. According to a document seen by Re/code, Google is in the process of facilitating consumer access to their bills through their email, rather than through the traditional mailbox.
Re/code reports that the new tool is tentatively being called “Pony Express” and will not only allow Gmail users to access their bills, but to pay them as well directly through the platform, instead of having to go directly to the company website to pay.
The document suggests that “Pony Express” is slated for a fourth quarter debut, though reports note that “Pony Express” may just be a code name for the product.
On the other hand, the company’s Google Wallet product continues its effort to grab market space, and Google revealed just days ago that the mobile payment service is now integrating into ride-sharing application Lyft.
But while the service struggles to compete with the likes of Apple Pay, reports have emerged that Google is working on an entirely separate mobile payments API that could be unveiled as soon as this May. The API, reports said last month, would operate as Android Pay and allow for single-tap payments at retail stores. An unnamed source told reporters, however, that Android Pay would not be a replacement for Google Wallet.
In addition to its expanding mobile payments technology development, Google’s latest move to offer bill payment through Gmail is seen as a move to strengthen Google’s access to data. “Pony Express,” experts note, would give Google access to hoards of financial data that it could use in all of its other businesses, potentially offering an opening for Google to enter the personal finance or lending industries.
According to the document obtained by Re/code, “Pony Express” users sign up for the service by providing basic information, including their Social Security number, to a third-party service that confirms their identity. The document suggests that Google is partnering with third parties that mail out bills on behalf of service providers and utilities; reports say it is unclear whether Google is working with those service providers itself.
“Pony Express” would not only allow users to receive and pay for their bills, reports said, but would allow users to organize all of these bills on a platform. Reports also note that “Pony Express” would work by connecting users’ bank accounts to the service, suggesting that this tool may signal a whole new payment system separate from Google Wallet, which doesn’t connect directly to users’ bank accounts.
Or, reports speculate, “Pony Express” could be seen as evidence that two different teams within the company are working toward similar mobile payments goals, and developing products that achieve those goals in different ways.
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