Tez rebranded as GooglePay, platform to receive major push this Diwali

Global tech giant Google on Tuesday said that by Diwali it plans to expand the operations of its payments platform, and would add major retail chains restaurants and cab aggregators to the platform. 

The tech giant has also re-branded 'Tez' as 'Google Pay' as part of its efforts to take the digital payments app to more online and retail merchants across the country.

“Building for India has helped Google build for everyone all around the world... Our partnership with RailTel is an example where millions of people are accessing the Internet from hundreds of railway station in India. We have also taken Google Station to other countries like Indonesia, Nigeria, Thailand and Mexico," Google General Manager (Next Billion Users initiative and Payments) Caesar Sengupta said. 

Previously, Google had partnered with RailTel to offer Wi-Fi access across 400 railway stations in the country. 

"Earlier this year, we partnered with APSFNL. We expect to start rolling out the service by year-end in cities like Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, to connect Gram panchayats, primary health care centres and other public places," he said.

Talking about payments, Sengupta said Tez - which was built for the Indian market - has seen strong traction with 22 million people using the platform every month. 

Already, 750 million transactions have been made with $30 billion in the annual run rate of transaction value, he added.

"Many governments have taken note and have asked us to collaborate with them. Keeping that in mind, we are compiling our payments under Google Pay. Everything with Tez remains the same," he noted. 

Sengupta said the company is also adding more merchants -- online and offline -- on to its platform. 

Google is working with big retailers and payments technology companies like Pine Labs to help merchants accept digital payments, he added.

The tech giant is also collaborating with lenders like Federal Bank, HDFC Bank and others to offer pre-approved loans on the Google Pay platform, a move it believes would accelerate efforts of financial inclusion.