Google's New Payment App For India Transfers Money Via Ultrasound (buzzfeed.com)

Pranav Dixit, writing for BuzzFeed News: Google's goal for the brand-new payments app it launched in India on Monday is simple yet ambitious: to get in on the action each time someone sends or receives money in its largest market outside the United States. The app is called Tez -- Hindi for "fast" -- and it lets users do three things: send money to people in their phones' address books, make payments to businesses (both online as well as in real-world mom-and-pop stores), and zap cash to anyone around them -- all without knowing bank account numbers or personal details. Tez is powered by UPI, short for Unified Payments Interface, a Indian government-backed payments standard that lets users transfer money directly into each other's bank accounts using just their mobile numbers, or a bank-issued payment ID that looks like an email address. It works a lot like Venmo does in the US, except that anyone can build their own payments app on top of UPI. Once you hit Pay or Receive, Tez detects other Tez users around you with a proprietary technology called Audio QR based on ultrasound, and pairs with their phones. Once a sender puts in the amount and authenticates with a preset PIN to confirm who they're sending money to, a transaction happens in seconds.

Comments

The UPI is the big deal here!

[Anonymous Coward]

The significant bit here isn't the ultrasound tech, but the UPI. This is backed by the Indian Government, and is *free*. Here in the US, banks charge $10 for a wire transfer, which actually reduces the amount of work they need to do (as compared to a paper cheque, which is free). But then, this requires a government to work for the people, not the corporates.

Re:The UPI is the big deal here!

[sl3xd]

Here in the US, banks charge $10 for a wire transfer,

For a "wire transfer", perhaps (I recall doing that for the down payment on my mortgage) , but an ACH transaction is generally free.

That's not to say that ACH isn't without issues, but the big issue in the US is cultural, rather than technological.

A government-backed payment system would give the IRS a way to monitor payments, and makes it a lot easier to prosecute people with apparently untaxed income. Gotta keep those guys with accounts in the Cayman islands happy.

Re:The UPI is the big deal here!

[Anonymous Coward]

Most countries have forgotten the role of governments. Governments create *standards*, you know, things like currency, 220V outlet plugs, telephone number system, etc. UPI fits perfectly into that. More governments should standardize basic things. Like hailing a cab. Why does Uber have to corner the market? There are already plenty of taxis that are registered with the government. Seems like a no-brainer to create a free standard for taxis to find customers and vice-versa. The govt doesn't need to even build the app, just specify a standard oh how taxis will broadcast and how customers will ping. Instead, many countries touting "free-markets" are shirking the govt's duty to provide standards.

Let private companies do what they do best: rapidly changing goods and services, like a new iPhone release every year. Let governments do what they do best: specify long-lasting standards that any individual or corporation can tie into and have compatibility for at least 10+ years.

Re:The UPI is the big deal here!

[Lennie]

Normally I would agree, but the Indian government has some strange ideas about how money should be managed. A large percentage of cash was declared basically useless over night.

http://www.independent.co.uk/n...

Re:Difference between air waves and EM waves?

[Anonymous Coward]

Plato would like you to stop stealing his arguments from 400BC.

India bankrupted by rogue dolphins

[Dirk Becher]

So long, and thanks for all the cash!

Now your kids can buy stuff from Google Play

[Ukab the Great]

without your permission before they're even born.

Re:Two birds with one stone!

[unixisc]

Except that in India, it's illegal to reveal to parents the gender of unborn children. So in that doctor's visit, they can show the ultrasound images of the fetus to the parents while getting simultaneously paid - w/o the parents realizing the latter }:-)