TikTok is reportedly exploring a new feature that would allow users to send money to one another through direct messages, potentially expanding the social media platform’s growing push into financial services. According to Bloomberg, the feature is still in early development and is not currently being tested in any market.
The in-development feature was discovered inside hidden code in the current version of the social media platform‘s US iPhone app. Bloomberg reports that it could use TikTok Pay, the company’s existing payment service in Southeast Asia, to facilitate these transactions.
Turning Direct Messages Into A Payment Channel
Based on the code examined by Bloomberg, recipients may be able to “tap to accept” money sent to them before a specified expiration date. Senders could also receive updates about the transaction through push notifications or their TikTok inbox, while the feature may allow users to attach a message to a payment.
That latter functionality would reportedly be similar to the captions that can accompany payments on PayPal’s Venmo service. However, TikTok has stressed that the feature is not currently being tested, meaning there is no guarantee that it will eventually be released to users.
TikTok Pay is currently available in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, where it is used to process payments for purchases made through TikTok Shop. The reported peer-to-peer functionality would therefore represent a notable expansion from facilitating purchases to allowing users to directly transfer money to one another.
Another Step Into Financial Services
The move would fit into ByteDance’s broader efforts to expand TikTok beyond being a video-sharing platform. Bloomberg notes that the company has been investing in financial technology and payment tools for years, with the broader goal of keeping users within its ecosystem while capturing more of their spending.
TikTok already has several forms of financial transactions taking place within the app. Apart from purchases through TikTok Shop, users can buy digital coins that can be used to send virtual gifts to creators and livestream hosts, with those gifts ultimately convertible into cash.
According to data from Sensor Tower, consumers worldwide have spent more than US$2.9 billion (RM11.79 billion) on TikTok so far this year, with the app remaining the world’s leading platform for in-app purchase revenue since 2022. Bloomberg’s report also notes that US users spend more on TikTok than on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Adding peer-to-peer payments could therefore give TikTok another way to keep financial activity within its platform. It could potentially allow users to send money without switching to a dedicated payment app, particularly when transactions originate from conversations, livestreams or interactions with creators.
Convenience Or A Recipe For Disaster?
On paper, being able to send money to another TikTok user as easily as sending them a message sounds convenient. However, if it does eventually launch the feature, there are also plenty of reasons to be cautious.
A payment system embedded directly into a social media platform could potentially create new opportunities for scammers and fraudsters to manipulate users into sending money. Meanwhile, bad actors could exploit the familiarity and immediacy of direct messages to make fraudulent requests appear legitimate.
There could also be concerns around financial responsibility. Making payments as frictionless as sending a message could make it easier for users to spend or transfer money impulsively, particularly younger users who may already spend significant amounts of time within the platform.
These concerns are not entirely hypothetical. Bloomberg notes that some of TikTok’s existing payment tools in the US have featured in lawsuits brought by state attorneys general, which have alleged that certain features contributed to sexual and financial exploitation of children, potentially violated money transmission laws or facilitated money laundering. TikTok and ByteDance are also hiring for financial-services roles in the US and elsewhere, according to public recruitment postings.
Still, it is important to stress that none of these concerns should be treated as evidence of problems with a peer-to-peer payment feature that does not yet exist. Whether this alleged feature ultimately becomes a useful convenience or a potential headache will depend on whether TikTok actually launches it first and what potential safeguards will be in place.
(Source: Bloomberg)
