# Exodus underway in Google Pay team after much-criticised app revamp: Report | Tech News (HT Tech) > The Google Pay team has been reportedly struggling and dozens of employees, executives, including payments chief Caesar Sengupta, have left. # Exodus underway in Google Pay team after much-criticised app revamp: Report ## The Google Pay team has been reportedly struggling and dozens of employees, executives, including payments chief Caesar Sengupta, have left. Aug 21 2022, 19:47 IST ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png) ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png) ![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png) ![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png) ![The new Google Pay app launched in November 2020 in the US and for about four months, there were two Google Pay apps running and that too without proper synchronisation.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2021/08/24/1600x900/366185537_0-5_1609163330856_1609163361976_1629788709374.jpg) The new Google Pay app launched in November 2020 in the US and for about four months, there were two Google Pay apps running and that too without proper synchronisation. (Bloomberg) ![Author Photo](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HTTech-new-circle-logo.png) ### By HT TECH Google Pay seems to be in a whole lot of trouble. According to a recent Business Insider report, the company is in trouble internally and externally. The report details an exodus of executives from Google’s payment division, employees frustrated with the slow movement of the division, and lower-than-expected app adoption. Business Insider (BI) spoke to ex-employees and learned that dozens of executives and employees have left the Google Payments team in recent months and this includes at least seven leaders on the team with roles like director or vice president. The most prominent departure of them all was of payments chief Caesar Sengupta’s and his departure “kicked off the exodus” in April. Employees are now worried about the reorganisation within the company and the slow progress. Reports have it that many rank-and-file team members have departed and “one former employee estimated that half the people working on the business-development team for Google Pay — a group of about 40 people — have left the company in recent months". Sengupta took over the payments division that oversees both the Google Pay app and the wider Google payments infrastructure both in 2018 and according to the report, much of his attention was focused on bringing the US Google Pay app more in line with the version the company made for India. This was the reference to Google Pay’s big revamp that happened in March this year. This revamp replaced the existing app and website with an entirely new service. Also read click here. According to Ars Technica, the update featured a lot of reduced functionality and a “clumsy transition plan for existing users”. The BI report quotes a former payments employee who said that - "Caesar (Sengupta) leaving was the capstone on a lot of frustration felt by employees. The product wasn't growing at the rate we wanted it to". Sengupta left Google one month after killing the old Google Pay app and making the new app mandatory for all US users. The new Google Pay app launched in November 2020 in the US and for about four months, there were two Google Pay apps running. One was the older Google Pay app that had been around since 2011 (it first existed as Google Wallet, then as Android Pay, and finally Google Pay), and the other was the new app which was essentially a “group-up rewrite” Google started for the Indian market. By April 2021, the older Google Pay service was killed off after the company working on winding it down since January this year. While both the old and new apps were called Google Pay, there was no similarity in terms of features, contacts, or accounts. Ars Technica’s review of the new Google Pay app states that it was a “pretty poor service” as compared to what Google previously had. The new app used SMS instead of a Google account for your identity so it could not be supported on multiple devices or multiple accounts, and there was no website support anymore. The smartphone was the only way to access and use Google Pay and everything was tied to your phone numbers, thanks to the SMS. NFC payments on Android work mostly the same way but P2P users had to deal with a “clumsy transition”. Users on the new app could not send money to users on the old app so that meant through the process of your contacts slowly switching between the old and the new version, Google Pay pretty much became an “unsuable mess”. Saying “I’ve sent you money on Google Pay” was no longer enough, users had to figure out if that meant the old app or the new app. Google should have ideally worked on making the transition easy but it did nothing and that lead to months of ‘downtime’, Google Pay became unreliable for anyone “but the savviest users, thanks to version incompatibilities”. Now, Google upending Google Pay is not an unmotivated move. According to a survey conducted by Pulse (a Discover company), Google Pay had a measly 3% market share as compared to Apple, which joined the NFC payments market years after Google, had a 92%. So, something did need to change for Google Pay, however, the stats were for NFC payments and the new Google Pay app did nothing about NFC payments. For Google Pay, next is the launch of “Plex” banking service that is going to be a “full-blown” Google bank account with a partnership with Citibank. According to one of the employees BI spoke to, "Plex was entirely (Vice President) Felix (Lin) and Caesar (Sengupta's) brainchild”. Now, neither of those two work at Google. Progress on Plex is already much slower than expected and with both the two “leading architects” out of the picture, this service might also be delayed. As Ars Technica rightly asks - “Does anyone out there actually want a Google bank account?” Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel. 24 Aug, 12:36 IST google pay google apple pay ![HT Tech Awards](https://tech.hindustantimes.com/ht-tech-power-list-awards-2026/httech-awards-banner-new.webp) ### Related Stories 07 Oct 2026 06 Oct 2026 05 Oct 2026 71,629,788,612,872 NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Tips & Tricks ![Ghibli-style art](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/03/28/414x233/ChatGPT_Ghibli_style_images_1743161814450_1743161814596.jpg) ### How to turn your photos into Ghibli-style art with ChatGPT for free: Step-by-step guide ![How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/14/414x233/invites_1738728829564_1739543695649.png) ### How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide ![Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/13/414x233/unnamed_1739426557335_1739426567634.jpg) ### Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it ![Vodafone Idea OTT plans](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Vodafone Idea users can now stream 17 OTT apps with one subscription: Here's how ![Android data transfer methods](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to transfer data from one Android to another using Google backup, USB-C cable, and more ## Editor’s Pick ![iPhone 16e launched with A18 chip, Apple AI—bringing flagship power on a budget: Check specs, price](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 16e launched in India: All details about the new budget mobile from Apple ![DeepSeek was founded in China with only a fraction of the budget of the top AI companies in the US.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### DeepSeek AI: How it works, who’s behind it, how it’s different from ChatGPT, and its big US market impact explained ![iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on ![Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini ![iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update ## Trending Stories ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside keep up with tech ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ![Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-twitter.png) ![WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-whatsApp.png) ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ## Gaming ![Check out these five gaming monitors under ₹20,000,](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Top 5 gaming monitors under ₹20000 you should consider ![gaming consoles](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Grab gaming consoles at discounted rates during Amazon Great Indian Festival: Up to 72% off ![Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025 to bring Grimmsnarl family, Shiny Hatenna, and global challenges ![Shade Silver](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Shade Silver free on Steam for a limited time: Here’s how to get it ![Call of duty](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 skips Switch 2 at launch, release date and price leak ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Trending News ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ## Trending Gadgets Mobiles Laptops Tablets ![HT Tech](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HT_tech-new.gif) - https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/exodus-underway-in-google-pay-team-after-much-criticised-app-revamp-report-71629788612872.html