Google has taken on PayTM with it’s new Digital Payments app, Tez, launched in association with Axis Bank. Finance minister, Arun Jaitley was present at the official launch of Tez and observed that a lot of people made digital payments more out of compulsion than finding it a more convenient method to transact. But that compulsion created a habit for many, he said. PayTM now has a new challenger and it is Tez.
The app is on the Indian government-supported Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Tez allows users, free of charge, to make payments straight from their bank accounts. Unlike digital wallets like PayTM, it does not require top ups and allows users to make free of charge payments out of their bank account. Thus, money stays in users’ bank accounts until they need to use it. Tez users continue to earn interest from their banks.
Notably, users do not have to add beneficiaries or enter bank account number and IFSC codes to send money. If the recipient is not on Tez , then users can still pay them with their bank account number or UPI ID. Tez is expected expand to offline merchants too in the coming months.
As a promotional offer, Tez is offering scratch cards worth upto Rs 1000 per person for each unique transaction with another new user. Google has also partnered with several smart phone makers like Nokia and Panasonic to pre-install Tez on their devices.
