Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Google’s Pony Express Will Let Users Pay Bills in Gmail

    By
    Jaikumar Vijayan
    -
    March 26, 2015
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      electronic bill paying

      Google’s continuing efforts to broaden its revenue streams appear to be taking the company into the bill payment services space.

      Google reportedly is planning to launch a new service that will let users receive and pay bills directly from inside their Gmail inboxes. The service, tentatively dubbed Pony Express, is scheduled for launch in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Re/code, which claims to have obtained a “lengthy document” describing the project.

      Re/code said the documents show Google is partnering with companies that print and mail bills out to customers on behalf of utilities, telecom companies, insurance firms and other service providers. It remains unclear if Google is also working directly with the service providers, it said.

      To sign up for the services, Gmail users will be required to provide their full name, address and Social Security number to a third party for identity vetting purposes. “Users might also have to provide information such as a full credit card number or telephone service account number to get started, too,” Re/code said.

      Users who are authenticated will be able to receive and pay their bills from inside their Gmail or new Inbox application. Many Gmail users already receive their bills in Gmail, so one of the things that Google hopes to do with the new service is to give users a way to organize the bills in a separate Pony Express folder inside Gmail, Re/code explained.

      Among the features that Google will offer with the new service is one that will allow users to automatically share bills they receive with other Gmail users. The feature is apparently designed for people who might have shared responsibility for a bill, such as roommates. Re/code said.

      “With Pony Express, Google could suck in the type of financial data that would allow it to expand into new businesses,” Re/code noted. “Credit card bills and payment history would be a gateway into industries such as personal finance or lending.”

      A Google spokesman declined to comment, saying the company does not respond to rumors and speculations about its business.

      Gartner analyst Avivah Litan said Google is in a perfect position to connect billers and bills to consumer payments because of its dominant position in the email space. Google can help billers save considerable money by helping them move from paper to electronic billing, she said. “Google can easily take a small slice of every transaction and make a small fortune on it,” Litan said in emailed comments to eWEEK.

      The main issue is consumers having to give Google their payment information, such as bank account number and credit card information, she said. “This is a huge security and data privacy concern. Consumers favor convenience over security, so it likely won’t slow down adoption of the service but frankly it should,” she said.

      “It behooves Google to anonymize any payment data they collect from consumers, in much the same way Apple did with Apple Pay. It will be interesting to see what security/privacy features they build in,” Litan noted.

      If Google does indeed launch Pony Express, or whatever its formal name will be, the service would fit in with the company’s continuing efforts to broaden its revenue streams by going after new markets and opportunities. It is a quest that recently has taken Google into markets like the gigabit Internet space, the wireless carrier market, autonomous cars, balloon-powered Internet and other initiatives. The moves have prompted some questions about whether the company is taking its eye off its core ad business, which still generates almost 90 percent of Google’s revenues.

      But some industry analysts have previously noted that most of Google’s new business initiatives are ultimately focused on gathering customer information that will allow it to build detailed, 360-degree views of their customers. The company is less interested in grabbing major market share and disrupting incumbent leaders in new markets than it is on gathering information that can be used to feed its core ad business and enable a host of related services, they have noted.

      Jaikumar Vijayan
      Vijayan is an award-winning independent journalist and tech content creation specialist covering data security and privacy, business intelligence, big data and data analytics.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×