TikTok App Code Suggests Exploration of Peer-to-Peer Payment Feature

TikTok is exploring a feature that would enable peer-to-peer payments between users via direct messages, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Aug. 18).

Evidence of the feature was found inside code in the current version of TikTok’s U.S. app, according to the report.

The code suggests that senders can include a message with the payments, receivers can “tap to accept” payments before an expiration date and senders can be notified about the status of the transaction via push notifications, the report said.

If the feature were launched, it would use an existing tool called TikTok Pay to handle the transactions. TikTok Pay is currently available in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand to pay for TikTok Shop purchases, per the report.

A TikTok spokesperson said in the report that the company is not currently testing the peer-to-peer payments feature in any market.

The Bloomberg report said that there is no guarantee TikTok will launch the feature but that the code suggests the app’s global owner, ByteDance, is exploring it.

Public recruiting posts show that both ByteDance and TikTok are hiring, in the U.S. and other countries, for roles focused on financial services products, according to the report.

In the U.S., where TikTok faced a ban unless ByteDance sold the app, ByteDance retains a 19.9% share of the new, majority American-owned joint venture called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.

It was reported March 31 that TikTok is eyeing a bigger role in financial services. The social media platform filed for two licenses with the Brazilian central bank, seeking permission to provide lending and payment services in Brazil.

The first would let TikTok serve as an “electronic money issuer,” providing prepaid accounts for users to hold balances, receive funds and make payments within the app. The second would make TikTok a “direct credit company,” allowing it to lend money or connect borrowers with lenders, but without the permission to take public deposits.

Another social media app, X, took another step in the rollout of its X Money offering by expanding it to members of the top tier of the app’s premium subscription service. X Money includes accounts for everyday spending, saving, sending and other functions; a custom metal Visa debit card with free ATM withdrawals and no foreign transaction fees; the ability to “pay anyone, any way,” including paying rent, sending a wire, mailing a check or paying friends; and the ability to earn interest on deposits, with no minimum balance.

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