Tag: Tez

Top Three E-Wallet Apps In India
For most of the transactions, we use physical currency. However, that goes out the window once most of your currency is demonetised. But, thanks to some really good e-wallet apps, transactions are not that difficult. So, let’s have a look at the top 3 e-wallet apps in India.

Paytm

Paytm is probably the first widely accepted e-wallet service in India. It can be accessed using an iOS or an Android smartphone. In fact, one can also access it using any of the standard web browsers. The platform comes with features like Paytm Wallet, where a user can use the wallet to make seamless transactions. Recently, Paytm has also started the Paytm payments bank, where the user can create a virtual savings bank account and get its own physical debit card. The platform also offers the ability to transfer money to bank accounts for a nominal fee. Paytm can be used to recharge mobiles, DHT, paying electricity bills, paying college tuition fees etc.
- Link to Android
- Link to iOS
Google Tez

Google Tez is the newest member of the e-wallet group. Unlike most of the e-wallets, Tez does not have the wallet service. The money sent/received will directly reflect in the user’s bank account. To use Google Tez, one has to have an active bank account with the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Tez also offers coupons in return for the transactions. A user can win from Rs 1 to Rs 1,00,000by scratching those coupons on Google Tez. One can link the UPI account created on Tez to the third party apps like Uber. Similarly, one can invite others to Google Tez to earn Rs 51.
- Link to Android
- Link to iOS
Amazon Pay

Amazon Pay is similar to Paytm with an Amazon Wallet. As the name suggests, this feature is initiated by Amazon, which can be used to shop on Amazon. However, one can also use this feature to pay the post-paid account bills, recharge pre-paid numbers and can be used with other services like Bookmyshow and Tapzo. Amazon Pay comes with additional perks like 50% cashback on recharges, Rs 100 back by adding Rs 300 to the wallet and more. If you are an online shopping junkie, then this a must have e-wallet service.
- Link to Android
- Link to iOS
March 19, 2018
Apple Pay Will Enter India By The End Of 2017
On September 12, Apple launched the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, the eagerly awaited iPhone X along with Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple TV 4K. Apple also announced that the global rollout of iOS 11, which was announced at the WWDC 2017, will start seeding to compatible iPhones and iPads on September 19. One of the most popular features available on iOS devices is Apple Pay, which is not yet available in India. However, sources close to iGyaan tell us that Apple has begun testing Apple Pay in India and will be introduced in the country by the end of 2017. Sources tell us that Apple is in talks with several merchants like Starbucks and Croma stores, and banks like HDFC Bank, Standard Chartered, and Citi Bank to introduce the contactless payment machines compatible with Apple Pay at their outlets.

Apple Pay securely stores credit cards, debit cards, or other sensitive payment information from the Wallet app and lets the user pay for goods directly from their mobile device. For Apple Pay to work, the merchant needs to have a contactless machine which is compatible with Apple Pay. During the transaction, TouchID or FaceID is required to authenticate the payment. Once the authentication is successful, a subtle vibration confirms that the transaction was successful.

The cardless payment service works on the new MacBook with TouchID and all iOS devices launched after iPhone 6, including the iPhone SE which is one of the most popular iOS devices in India and also the only Apple product currently being manufactured in India at the company’s Bengaluru Campus. Devices compatible with Apple Pay are:
- iPhone 6/6 Plus
- iPhone6s/6s Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 7/7 Plus
- iPhone 8/8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPad Pro
- iPad Air 2/iPad Air 3
- iPad Mini 3/iPad Mini 4
- Apple Watch Series 1/ Series 2/ Series 3
- MacBook Pro 2017 with TouchID
Samsung has already introduced Samsung Pay in India which works exactly like Apple Pay, except that it doesn’t need a compatible contactless machine to work. Samsung Pay works with any card payment machine, giving it an advantage over Apple Pay. Other online payment apps like PayTM also allow its users to make cardless payments directly through the PayTM app, although, you need to top up your PayTM balance before making any transactions. In the case of Samsung and Apple Pay, transactions are made directly from the credit or debit card synced with your account.

Google also launched its own UPI based mobile payments app, Tez in India on September 18th. The app has a widespread support of banks and the Finance Minister of India, Mr. Arun Jaitley himself launched the app and even made the first ever Tez transaction. It will be interesting to see how many banks come on board with Apple Pay and how Indian consumers react to the service as the convenience of PayTM and a surge of Google Tez by December may hamper the popularity of Apple Pay. However, considering Apple is India’s second largest premium smartphone maker along with Apple Pay’s integration with iOS 11 and the Apple ecosystem may persuade iPhone and other Apple product owners to switch to Apple Pay.
September 18, 2017
Google Tez, A UPI Mobile Payments App Launched In India

Google has announced the launch of its new India-centric UPI based mobile payments app, Tez. The search engine giant’s new app will let users link their smartphones to their bank accounts to pay for goods securely in physical and online stores, and for person-to-person money transfers.

Payments made straight from your bank account, big or small. Presenting #GoogleTez, money made simple. https://t.co/yb71ezw9Ol pic.twitter.com/Ywy6xJf2qj

— Google Pay India (@GooglePayIndia) September 18, 2017

The information portal of Tez reads

Send money home to your family, split a dinner bill with friends, or pay the neighbourhood chaiwala. Make all payments big or small, directly from your bank account with Tez, Google’s new digital payment app for India

The app will be available to download on all iOS and Android devices. The payments app will tie up with several banks through Unified payments Interface (UPI), a payment system backed by the government in its push to bring more integrated banking services in the Indian market. Supported banks include Axis, HDFC Bank, ICICI and State Bank of India and other banks that support UPI. Online payment partners include food chains like Dominos, transport services like RedBus, and Jet Airways. To help address one of the most important factors that make or break an online service in the Indian market, the app has support for English, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, and Telugu. Tez features a technology called audio QR that allows users to transfer money using sounds to pair two devices. Called the “cash mode option,” phones negotiate a connection using audio to identify the payer and payee.

It is worth noting that the app is not a digital ‘wallet’ like PayTM wherein the money is stored in the app and is topped up for purchases. The Google Tez is more like Apple Pay where the app links your phone with your bank accounts to let you use your phone as a way to deduct payments from those accounts. There is also has a separate business portal for sellers to register themselves and accept payments through Tez itself.

India has seen a fast growth of online payment apps like PayTm in the past few years and last year’s demonetization further fueled this growth. UPI is a payment system launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and regulated by the Reserve Bank of India which makes the instant fund transfer between two bank accounts on the mobile platform possible. There have been reports suggesting that the infrastructure of digital payments in India is expected to grow three-fold by the end 2017. Talking about the meteoric growth of online payments in India, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and IT said

We expect that by December, the number will actually go up to five million PoS(Point of Sales), which means that the infrastructure for digital payments is going to grow three times in the short span of one year.

Tez enters the Indian market at a time when the online payment industry has just started seeing an exponential rise. The app offers a different service than PayTM, the most successful UPI payments app in India right now and might be able tp differentiate itself from PayTM but it may take a while before people accept Tez as their primary mobile payments app.

September 18, 2017