Google Assistant now lets you send and request money from your contacts
Google Pay users can now use the voice-activated Google Assistant on their smartphones to send or request money from people in their contacts, Google announced Thursday. The new service is free and currently on Android and iOS phones in the US.
A user says something like, "Hey Google, request $20 from Sam for the show tonight," and funds would be immediately transferred, even if the recipient doesn't have Google Pay. The recipient would get an email or text message about the payment, or a notification if they'e already installed the Google Pay app.
If the sender doesn't have a Google Pay account and tries to send money with Google Assistant, they'll be prompted to set an account.
Google Pay was created earlier this year, when Google consolidated Android Pay and Google Wallet into one platform, streamlining its payment services across web, mobile and retail locations. Making it accessible via voice command was the natural next step.
Google says the feature will be available on Google Home and other voice-activated speakers in the coming months.
Apple already has a peer-to-peer payments service, Apple Pay, accessible via its voice assistant Siri. Additionally, third party payment vendors like PayPal have already made their services accessible via Siri.