It appears that Google is quietly eliminating the option to send peer-to-peer transactions through Google Pay Send from its applications in the US. USA This follows the complete closure of P2P service in the UK. For two of our advisors, the option to send and receive money from friends via the Messages app has been absent for a few days, and now a Google support page has appeared confirming that the functionality has been removed from the Assistant, Gmail and Contacts. However, you can still use the Pay app to transfer money to your friends.
While the situation is clear when it comes to Wizard, Gmail, and Contacts (it is even mentioned in your Play Store changelog, see below), we are not sure if the deletion of Pay for messages is a mistake or not. No documentation seems to point to an official retraction, and there’s even an active help page that explains how you can use Messages to send money. However, a support thread was opened on the subject in which several users complain about not being able to send money through the text application, and an experienced member of the forum in contact with Google confirms that the functionality has been removed.
Since Google is Google, removing the payment feature generally appears to be a work in progress. An informant tried to transfer money through the Google Assistant on his phone, and although he did not approve the transaction, the user interface suggests that payments are still possible. However, the same action was not available on your Chromebook, so something seems to be happening.
Left: The change log of Contacts Play Store. Right: Sending functional payment in the Google Assistant.
Google Pay Send was initially part of Google Wallet, which was already integrated with Gmail and Messages in 2017. When it changed its name to its current name, it gradually made its way into Contacts and then Assistant.
We can only speculate why Google would remove it from their apps. Perhaps the company wants to streamline the transfer experience to make the Pay brand more prominent, only by allowing you to use the app to send money. It would make sense to promote the payment name more aggressively if Google really wants to make it a shopping portal, as rumored. With the UK closure of Pay Send in mind, Google may also want to ditch the platform entirely.
We have contacted Google for more information.
