Google Pay's P-to-P finds its voice

Google Pay users can now simply tell Google Assistant on their Android and iOS phones to make a payment to another person.

The voice-activated payment option has been added to Google Pay's features to address situations in which consumers have to pay someone back, for example, after a weekend activity, Sam Kensara, product manager for Google Pay, said in a Thursday blog.

When unveiling Google Pay a month ago, the potential for a person-to-person payment feature to be added soon was mentioned as a key element that would differentiate it from the previous Android Pay app.

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

"Just ask Google Assistant to pay your friends back with Google Pay, so you can spend more time having fun and less time dealing with the hassle of paying each other back," Kensara said.

Users can send or request money from their contacts list at no charge when using Google Assistant. In the coming months, the blog noted, consumers will be able to send voice-activated payments through speakers like Google Home.

If a user trying to send a voice-activated payment has not yet signed up for Google Pay, a prompt will encourage them to do so to complete the transaction. Funds are transferred immediately, even if the recipient is not a Google Pay user.

Recipients will receive a text message or email regarding the payment, and those with the Google Pay app already installed will get a notification to cash it out.