TikTok explores feature to send money over direct messages, extending financial services push
The in-development feature, if launched, will use the TikTok Pay offering available in South-east Asia to handle the transactions
TikTok is exploring a new feature that would allow users to send money to each other through direct messages, expanding the social media app's reach into financial services. This proposed feature would utilize TikTok Pay, an existing service in Southeast Asia, to handle transactions. The code found in the current version of TikTok's US iPhone app suggests that users can "tap to accept" payments before an expiration date, with senders notified about the transaction status.
The sender could also add a message with the payment, similar to PayPal's Venmo service. ByteDance, the global owner of TikTok, has been actively expanding its fintech portfolio and has been investing in payment tools to boost spend and engagement within the app. While there is no confirmation of the feature's launch, the engineering work indicates ByteDance's interest in exploring this move.
Social media platforms are increasingly venturing into commerce to capture more consumer data and spending.
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