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Though the new Google Pay still exceeds my expectations, it seems to have a few skeletons in its closet. While they do make everything clear through notices on the site and through support articles, these are certainly bold moves. First, Google is adding a fee to instant transfers. With the original Google Pay, you could transfer money out to your bank in an instant and it would cost you nothing. This feature is why many people chose to use the service over its competitors, by the way.
For example, my girlfriend and I would often transfer one another small bits of money for grocery runs or even to pay a few bills. Since we had our bank account linked, this money would instantly drop into that account with no fees whatsoever. Now, instant transfers to a bank account cost 1.5% or $0.31 fee (whichever is higher). If we don’t want Google to pocket that money, we’re stuck with the 1-3 day wait period instead. To be fair, this is the same percentage everyone else charges for the same service and while it was a nice benefit of Pay, it makes sense that they couldn’t continue to offer such a nicety (That seems to be a recurring phrase as of late).
They’re also axing the ability to make payments to friends and family via the Google Pay website. I mentioned last week that they ought to redesign and re-launch the Pay web app as an added bonus of the rebranding, but it looks as though that may not be in its immediate future.
Starting early in 2021, you won’t be able to use pay.google.com to send and receive money from other people. To send and receive money, use the new Google Pay app.
Google Support
In addition to no longer being able to use the site for peer-to-peer payments, the old Google Pay app will no longer have that functionality either. So, if you’re not using the new app, you’re only able to make NFC payments, manage your payment methods and use your loyalty cards. We’ll keep you informed if there are any other major things to know about the new Google Pay app, so stay tuned!
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