Google has announced international money transfer agreements with remittance businesses Wise and Western Union Co for users of its U.S. payments app, according to the companies. Google Pay users in the US may now send money to app users in India and Singapore, with plans to expand to the 80 countries supported by Wise and 200 countries supported by Western Union by the end of the year.
Google's entry into the $470 billion remittance industry is a step forward in the company's efforts to diversify its financial services portfolio, increasing competition in the digital payments sector.
Wise, located in London, was founded in 2011 with the goal of making international money transfers cheaper and easier, but Western Union, with its vast worldwide network of physical facilities, maintains the market leader in remittances.
Their collaboration with Google Pay, which has 150 million users in 40 countries, comes as the COVID-19 epidemic has resulted in an increase in online payments but a decrease in overall remittances.
In November, the Silicon Valley technology business revamped its U.S. payments app, offering sponsored advertisements and launching a queue for bank accounts with a number of lenders.
The new remittances feature intensifies the battle for consumers' money and data between technology businesses and traditional banking organisations, with providers vying to become a one-stop shop for their users' financial requirements.
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