Google is working on a project to let you receive and pay bills in your Gmail inbox

25 Mar Google is working on a project to let you receive and pay bills in your Gmail inbox

The month is full of news about tech companies launching new payment services.

The latest news is that Google is working on a project to let you receive and pay bills in your Gmail inbox. This is reported on the website of Re/code. Called Pony Express, the new service is designed to let people pay their bills within Gmail, rather than having to go to a telecom or utility company’s website to complete a payment. Those details are outlined in a lengthy document viewed by Re/code. The new service is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter, according to the document. It’s not clear whether Pony Express is a code name or one that’ll be used if it comes to market. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment.

At the beginning of this month Google announced a new mobile payment service called Android Pay, a platform that enables developers to integrate mobile payments in their apps. The launch of Android Pay matched the launch of Samsung Pay and Paypal’s announcement of the purchase of Paydiant, a startup that provides technology for NFC enabled card readers. The new technology gives Paypal users and merchants the ability to accept mobile payments from Apple Pay and Google Wallet.

But there was more news dominating the payment landscape. Last week Facebook revealed that American users will soon be able to send payments through the Facebook Messenger app. We already posted a blog about this new service. Last but not least, Square announced two days ago that it is extending its Cash person-to-person payments service to businesses. Launched in 2013, Square Cash lets Americans send money to friends and family for free through a linked debit card using only an email address or phone number. Square is less well known than Google, Facebook and Apple. It is a successful mobile payment company founded in 2009 in San Francisco, by Jack Dorsey who is also one of the co-founders of Twitter.

Written by Carlien Roodink, partner Holland FinTech