Google on Wednesday clarified that users in India will not have to pay any fee for money transfers on its payment platform, and that the charges are for users in the US. Last week, Google had announced that it is launching a redesigned Google Pay app next year on Android and iOS, starting with the US, and that users will not be able to use the service on a web browser. Reports had said that Google Pay will also add a fee on instant money transfers.
"These charges and fees are specific to the US and do it apply to the Google Pay or Google Pay for Business apps in India," a Google spokesperson said. Google Pay had 67 million users in India with a total payment value of USD 110 billion on an annualised basis, as of September 2019. Google Pay for Business had announced over 3 million merchants in June 2020. It supports UPI and tokenised debit and credit cards as forms of payment in India. Google Pay competes with players like Paytm, Walmart-owned PhonePe and Amazon Pay in India.