TikTok may soon turn private chats into a new way to send money, as code found in the platform’s U.S. iOS app points to a possible peer-to-peer payment feature that could allow users to transfer funds without leaving a conversation.
The possible feature, reported by Bloomberg, appears to be connected to TikTok Pay, the company’s existing payment system. The development signals another step in TikTok’s growing interest in financial services and could put the social media giant in closer competition with established payment companies.
Users could receive updates about the progress of their payments. People receiving money may also need to accept the payment by pressing a button before a set deadline expires.
The feature could also allow users to add captions to payments, similar to the way people add messages when sending money through apps such as Venmo.
The possibility of TikTok entering the U.S. peer-to-peer payment market has already caught investors’ attention. Shares of companies including PayPal and Western Union fell following reports about the potential expansion.
TikTok Pay currently operates in parts of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Vietnam, where it supports transactions through TikTok Shop. In the United States, TikTok Shop currently relies on outside payment options, including PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, Affirm and credit cards.
However, TikTok has not confirmed that the feature is being tested. The idea is also not completely new within TikTok’s corporate family. Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese counterpart operated by ByteDance, already supports peer-to-peer payments through Douyin Pay.
ByteDance retains a 19.9% stake in the TikTok U.S. venture after transferring most of its ownership to TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC earlier this year. Social media companies have been exploring payments for years.
