Google Pay users in the US can now send money abroad to family or friends in India or Singapore. Users could previously send money only to those in the same country, so this new feature is very welcome.
You Can Now Send Money Abroad With Google Pay
Google announced foreign Google Pay transfers in a post on The Keyword. The company has partnered with Western Union and Wise to provide the new service.
As of May 11th, 2021, this feature only supports sending money to other Google Pay users in India and Singapore from the US. However, Google claims that by the end of 2021, users will be able to send money to more than 200 countries through Western Union and more than 80 countries through Wise.
It's worth noting that although the new feature is built directly into the Google Pay app, you actually send the money through one of the partners. When sending money, the app will take you through the necessary steps with the partner.
When sending money abroad, users will experience transfer fees, and every transaction is, of course, subject to exchange rates. However, until June 16th both partners have introductory offers. With these offers, users can access unlimited fee-free transfers with Western Union, and Wise will provide the first transfer of up to $500 fee-free.
Google is releasing this new feature with the intention of helping those who have moved to the US send money back home. Which fits with the company's recent relationships focus. But since there are no requirements to use the service, users can equally send money to friends abroad.
Currently, it's unclear whether the feature will be supported in other countries, or just the US. Since the payments being made are international and through the partners, it seems likely that users in other countries might get the feature at a later date.
Expanding Google Pay's Offerings
Google Pay was first introduced as Android Pay back in 2015, before the 2018 name change. At the start, the app could only be used to make contactless payments from Android phones to the rival Apple Pay.
Google then rolled out new Google Pay features to make it a more extensive money service. Which includes making payments to friends. As with most other products, it seems Google is trying to offer its solution as the only one you'll need.
Apple Pay in the US has featured this same ability to pay others for a while as well. But, Apple Pay doesn't yet support international money transfers, so it seems that Google has beaten its rival to the punch this time.
Get Ready to Delete Those Money Transfer Apps
With the ability to send money to friends in the same country and now those in other countries as well, Google Pay is a viable solution to other money transfer apps such as Cash App.
While it might be worth waiting until later in 2021 when more countries are supported, frequent money spenders can get ready to delete those money transfer apps and opt for Google Pay as the all-in-one solution.