Google Pay Send is no longer available in Assistant, Contacts, Gmail, and Messages


It looks like Google is silently removing the option to send peer-to-peer transactions via Google Pay Send from its apps in the US. This follows the complete shutdown of the P2P service in the UK. For two of our tipsters, the option to send and receive money from friends via the Messages app has been missing for a few days, and now a Google support page has surfaced that confirms that the functionality is stripped from the Assistant, Gmail, and Contacts. You can still use the Pay app to move money to friends, though.
While the situation is clear cut when it comes to Assistant, Gmail, and Contacts (it's even mentioned in its Play Store changelog, see below), we're not sure if the removal of Pay from Messages is a bug or not. No documentation seems to point at an official retraction, and there's even still an active help page that explains how you can use Messages to send money. However, a support thread on the issue has been opened where multiple users complain about not being able to send money via the text app, and a seasoned forum member in contact with Google confirms that the functionality has been removed.
Google being Google, the removal of the Pay feature generally seems to be a work in progress. A tipster tried transferring money via Google Assistant on his phone, and while he stopped short of approving the transaction, the UI suggests that payments are still possible. The same action wasn't available on his Chromebook, though, so it looks like something's up.
Google Contacts changelog: United States: you can no longer pay a contact via Google Pay from your Contacts app. Use the Google Pay app to send money to your contacts.
Left: The Contacts Play Store changelog. Right: Functional Pay Send in Google Assistant.
Google Pay Send was initially part of Google Wallet, which was integrated with Gmail and Messages back in 2017 already. When it was rebranded to its current name, it gradually made its way into Contacts and then Assistant.
We can only speculate why Google would remove it from its apps. Maybe the company wants to streamline the transfer experience to make the Pay brand more prominent, only allowing you to use the app to send money. It would make sense to promote the Pay name more aggressively if Google really wants to turn it into a shopping portal, as rumored. With the UK shutdown of Pay Send in mind, it's also possible that Google wants to get rid of the platform altogether.
We've reached out to Google for more information.
  • Thanks: 
  • Anthony & Nick

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Linktree’s free workaround lets you add multiple links to your Instagram bio

Image
Instagram only gives you one opportunity to link to outside resources inside its photo sharing platform. This might not be a problem for a majority of the users, but for those wanting a little more customization and even more options, it leaves much to be desired. Enter  Linktree , a free tool for Instagram designed to improve traffic to your outside link, be it a blog, portfolio, or store. How it works is fairly straightforward. After connecting Linktree to your Instagram profile, you’ll receive a single link to place in your Instagram bio. Once that link in place, you can customize what it’s linked to within your browser, be it a single website, or a collection of sites you’re looking to direct followers to Say you’re a photographer who’s using Instagram as a marketing tool for your wedding photography. Using Linktree, you can direct Instagram followers to your blog, your portfolio site, and even your other social media accounts. Until now, you would’ve been stuck choosing b
Read more

EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE PIXEL 4, THE MOST-LEAKED PHONE EVER

Image
Google’s  Pixel 3 might have been the  most-leaked phone in history . Long before its unveiling, we knew practically everything about it from unboxing videos, photo comparisons, even a full review of the device. Surely, for the Pixel 4, Google would clamp down on leaks to leave some surprises for its debut on  October 15th , right? Let’s just say, if that was the plan, it didn’t exactly work out. We’ve now seen the Pixel 4 XL from every angle and in three different colors. At least seven different sources have touched this phone, many of them confirming the same specs. We not only know which cameras it’ll have, but also what they may be capable of, including air gestures (go figure). That doesn’t even count information Google has already shared  on purpose. So if you want to know almost everything about the Pixel 4 nearly a month before it’s announced, buckle up. We’ve sifted through all of the rumors and information we can find to compile everything we know — and everything we
Read more

Our favorite iOS apps for the iPhone and iPad in 2018

Image
As 2018 comes to a close, it’s time to look at some our favorite apps of the year. While not all of these are brand new, many of them popped up onto our radar for the first time in 2018, and are definitely worth the attention. Others are some of our favorites that are still best-in-class despite having been around for some time now. We aim to do things differently at TNW, and as such you’re not going to find the recommendations you’re probably used to seeing: Gmail, Skype, Dropbox, and the like. Instead, we want to focus on the best-of-the-best that you may not have heard of, and others that are just special enough to warrant a mention. As always, we’d encourage you to share some of your favorites in the comments below, or on Facebook. Enlight Pixaloop (Free Pixaloop  is one of my favorite apps on the market. Unlike typical image editors that allow you to remove red eye or apply a filter, Pixaloop allows you to create stunning photo animations with a few clicks on your
Read more