Google to launch a global product based on its India-focused G Pay

Google is working on a global payments product that will be based on its India-exclusive G Pay platform.

Address the Google for India 2020 event, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said that India is setting the global standard on how to digitize payments. He said that building India-first products has helped the company come up with better products for the global market.

“A recent example is GPay, our fast, simple way to pay contactless or online. Together with the rise in BHIM-UPI adoption, GPay makes it easy to pay the rickshawala, or send money to family back home. India is setting the global standard on how to digitize payments, and it’s now helping us build a global product,” he said.

Pichai’s comments are in line with a December report that revealed Google had recommended India’s UPI-based digital payment-like platform to the US Federal Reserve Board. Google had pushed for a platform called "FedNow" – an interbank real-time gross settlement service (RTGS) for faster digital payments.

In its letter to the board, Google had hailed India’s UPI for thoughtful planning and execution.

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"First, UPI is an interbank transfer system (there are now over over 140 member banks, after initially launching with 9 participating banks). Second, it is a real time system. Third, it is 'open' -- meaning technology companies can build applications that help users directly manage transfers into and out of their accounts held at banks," Mark Isakowitz, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, US and Canada, Google said in the letter.

Apart from G Pay, Google is now rolling out another India-focused application globally. Pichai said that its AI-based reading tutor application Bolo, now rebranded as Read Along, will be available to children in 180 countries in nine languages. Google will add more language support in the future.