Google wants users to pay Gmail bills from inbox

According to Recode, Google wants Gmail users to be able to pay bills via credit and debit cards without leaving their inboxes. The service, codenamed Pony Express, should be operational before the end of the year.

With the service, companies should be able to send bills by email, after which users can pay in the inbox of the service. As a result, they do not first have to make the payment through a retailer’s site or payment service, writes Recode, who says they have a document in their hands from the service that Google now calls Pony Express.

The document describes the setup of the service, which requires users to enter, among other things, the name and US version of a Social Security Number. Then the bills will come up with the date the user is due to pay them in the Pony Express folder in Gmail. There, users can share the bill with other Gmail users and pay instantly. This is done via credit card. It looks like it will be a service that will work in the United States upon release, as it will need to be linked to the billing companies.

It is not the first time that Google wants to make a step into the world of electronic payments. It has had the Google Wallet for several years, the payment method for, among other things, paid apps in the Play Store on Android. Google was also early with nfc payments in Android.