Google's digital payment app 'Tez' integrates with SBI

Google announced a deeper integration with the State Bank of India (SBI) for its digital payment app "Tez" that will allow users to now create a SBI UPI Id -- @oksbi and get access to exclusive offers for the SBI customers.

Launched in September last year, "Tez" claims to have processed over 250 million transactions till date and has over 13.5 million monthly active users across the country.

"This partnership with Google Tez will drive innovation and deliver exciting new opportunities for our 40 crore plus customer base," Rajnish Kumar, SBI Chairman, said in a statement.

"Tez" is built on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), allowing users make payments from their bank accounts to other accounts from over 70 UPI-enabled banks.

"We are still in very early stages of building a vibrant digital payments ecosystem that brings together millions of smartphone users, small merchants, large businesses, and financial institutions. This partnership is an important step forward in that journey," added Diana Layfield, Vice President, Head of Finance and Commerce Products, Next Billion Users at Google.

The app is available in English and seven other languages -- Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.