There are two eras in modern history: Pre-Google and Post- Google. Known for pushing boundaries beyond the ordinary, Google has been a massively popular website since 2004. Be it cloud-based storage, productivity tools, location-based maps or emails- they have made their presence felt in whatever they have set their eyes on. Perhaps the most recognizable and used website, Google has asserted their dominance in these last 15+ years. Google is known for targeting its audience and capturing whatever market they set their sights on (Social media perhaps being the only notable exception).
After the Indian Government banned the denominations of 500 and 1000, it pushed for a cashless economy. They wanted digital transactions to increase. During this time, a lot of Android apps came into the Indian market to capitalize on this huge sector. And obviously, Google wanted a piece of this cake as well. In September 2017, Google launched Tez on Playstore. Operating on Unified Payments Interface, Tez is an instant mobile to bank money transfer app. ‘Tez’ literally means ‘fast’ in Hindi, to denote the speed of the transactions. As soon as Tez was launched into the Indian market, it was a massive success. In less than 40 days since its launch, it had over 8 million installations. Till date, over 30 million transactions have been made using this app. Although the app is exclusive only in India, Google intends to launch it in other emerging countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand as well.
Google has recently mentioned it plans to enter the Indian e-commerce market by Diwali and plans to expand the operations of its payments platform. The multi-national company would be adding major retail chains, restaurants and cab aggregators to the platform. Diwali is one of the most popular festivals in India, and undoubtedly one of the largest. People exchange gift cards for Diwali, hampers and gift baskets, chocolates and traditional sweets during this festival. The online marketplace portals like Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa and Tata CLiQ leverage this and run sale events. These events offer amazing deals and discounts on everything from fashion apparels to mobile devices, electronic gadgets and electrical appliances. During the festival period, the coupons and deals platform like GrabOn also source handpicked and exclusive promo codes which helps the average online shopper save big on their purchase. The market is fertile with huge crowd craving more and more products. Hence, it makes perfect sense for the tech giant to rebrand and launch the app during this period. The app will not only get a huge push in terms of user acquisition but will also enjoy huge popularity.
In a recent announcement, Google has said it will change the name of Tez to Google Pay. While this can be seen as an aggressive expansion idea (Tez is a Hindi word, so it might hamper their business elsewhere), it can also be seen as a way to revive their brand name. With the emergence of multiple mobile payment apps flooding the market, the push was kind of obvious. Moreover, although the app started really well, it’s popularity kind of fell. As of now, the app is accepted by popular Indian companies and MNCs like PVR Cinemas, redBus, McDonald’s, ACT Broadband and a few more. State government Electricity boards have also started accepting the app. Quite a few number of businesses like Dish TV, Jet Airways and Domino’s are also expected to join this platform soon.
In a statement issued by the company, it is mentioned that they want Tez rebranded as GooglePay and aim to push it into the Indian market during Diwali. Google has also issued its objectives surrounding Google Pay and what it plans to achieve in the next few years. Considering that the Indian e-commerce market is a very dicey stepping stone, to begin with, only time will tell if Google can capture this space or fail in their endeavour.
Guest Author: Shubhagata Choudhury
