Google Tez App for Digital Payments — Here’s How It Works

Google has designed Tez app over UPI and supports multiple Indian languages.

Will Indian users adapt quickly top Google’s Tez app?

(Photo: The Quint)

Google Tez app for digital payment is now available for Android and iOS users in India. The app is based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform, which was set up by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) earlier this year.

The app can be used to send or receive money, and Google claims that the Tez app has been designed to work, even in low-connectivity points i.e. even on 2G networks.

Here’s everything you need to know about Tez and how it works:

Simple to Use and Transact

Google has designed Tez prioritising the Indian market, which is why, the app already supports languages like Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali to start of, with others to be added in the coming months.

The app, sized at 7MB should ideally work in 2G areas of the country. Unlike Paytm or BHIM, Tez only requires the user to login via their Google ID, set up a UPI PIN (if they don’t have one already) or fingerprint ID for phones that support this function.

You can send/receive money via Tez, just by selecting users from your contact list, and your number won’t be shown to the sender.

You can even pay to users from your contact list.  (Photo: The Quint)

Google highlights that the data is not stored on the device, everything gets logged on to the Google Cloud.

In addition to that, Tez also works with QR Code payment (app generated for now), with Bharat QR likely to power the feature in the coming months.

Having said that, Tez doesn’t let you add debit/credit cards right now, and they are working on partnering with mobile wallets like Paytm and Mobiquik too.

Tez lets you pay with UPI ID, QR Code or just the phone number.  (Photo: The Quint)

The app also doesn’t support feature phones (or smart feature phones like the JioPhone) but Caesar Sengupta, VP, Next Billion Users at Google highlighted that once UPI supports those devices, Tez will become compatible as well.

Cash Mode is The USP of Tez

Most of these features are available on other competing platforms like Paytm and even BHIM (which is also based on UPI).

So, how Tez differentiates itself in this space, is with a feature called Cash Mode. Here is a demo video from Diana Layfield, Vice President, Finance and Commerce Products.

As you can see, the Cash Mode option works similar to how you end up transferring files via an app called ShareIt.

The app doesn’t need Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or NFC to pair between two devices. Instead, Google has designed Tez to use your phone’s speaker and microphone to transmit sound waves, which help in sending money.

The Tez-Aadhaar Link

According to the terms and conditions page on Tez’s website, anybody using Tez to transact will have to share their Aadhaar details, which did raise a few eyebrows at the media event in the capital on Monday. However, Caesar was quick to clarify that the Aadhaar link isn’t functional yet.

Tez app is likely to support Pay with Aadhaar option very soon. (Photo Courtesy: Google/Tez)

The Pay by Aadhaar facility on Tez has not been implemented yet. We at Google are still evaluating the regulatory processes for Aadhaar. But the feature could come in the future. 

Caesar Sengupta, VP, Next Billion Users, Google

It’ll be interesting to see how Google plans to take Aadhaar under its wing in the coming months.

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