Google is enabling cross-border payments within the Google Pay app through integrations with Western Union and the U.K.-based remittance firm Wise.
In the rollout’s first phase, U.S.-based Google Pay users may initiate transfers from the U.S. to India and Singapore by tapping "Pay" and choosing Western Union or Wise, with other countries to be added soon, the companies announced Tuesday.
U.S. Google Pay users will be able to send funds through the app to 200 countries via Western Union and 80 countries via Wise by the end of the year, the companies said.
To drive adoption, Western Union is waiving fees for all cross-border transfers sent through the Google Pay app through June 16, the press release said. Wise is making the first cross-border transfer of up to $500 free for new Wise customers during the same time frame. The usual fees for Western Union and Wise will apply otherwise.
Western Union, which is rolling out its services in U.S. Walmart stores, supports cross-border transfers in 130 currencies.
Wise charges the current foreign exchange rate and transfer fees and taxes that will vary from country to country, calculated within the app for each proposed remittance. Google used Wise’s APIs to connect the Google Pay app with Wise’s platform, according to the release.
“Through this collaboration, and with the integration of the Wise Platform, Google Pay customers can now send money internationally cheaper, faster and easier,” Harsh Sinha, Wise’s chief technology officer, said in a press release.
“By teaming up with Wise, we are providing a way for Google Pay users to send money quickly, safely and reliably from the Google Pay app,” Josh Woodward, Google Pay’s director of product management, said in the release.
Wise has 10 million users that include individuals and businesses and processes $6 billion in cross-border transactions each month, the release said.
