TikTok explores peer to peer payments through direct messages

MUMBAI: TikTok may soon have users doing more than just sending messages and memes, they could be sending money too. The short-video platform is reportedly exploring a feature that would allow users to make peer-to-peer payments directly through direct messages, signalling another step into financial services.

References to the proposed functionality were reportedly discovered in the code of TikTok’s current US iPhone app, according to Bloomberg. The code suggests users could send a payment within a conversation, while recipients could tap an option to accept the money. Senders may also be able to add a message alongside the payment.

The feature appears to be linked to TikTok Pay, the company’s existing payments service used in Southeast Asia for transactions on TikTok Shop. However, TikTok has not confirmed that peer-to-peer payments are being tested.

In fact, the company told Bloomberg that the feature is not being tested, suggesting the functionality remains at an early development stage. There is currently no indication of when — or whether — TikTok could roll it out to users.

If introduced, the feature would push TikTok further beyond its roots as a social media platform. The company has steadily added services including TikTok Shop, search, local discovery, games and hotel bookings, turning the app into a broader ecosystem where entertainment increasingly sits alongside commerce and services.

TikTok has also been exploring financial services outside the US. In March, Reuters reported that the company had applied to Brazil’s central bank for approval to operate as a fintech, including offering lending and payment services.

A direct payment option could eventually put TikTok alongside established peer-to-peer payment platforms such as Venmo and Zelle, although the proposed feature is still far from becoming a confirmed product.

The move would also place TikTok in a growing race among social platforms to make money movement part of the social experience. X, formerly Twitter, has already launched X Money in the US, allowing users to send money to one another.

For now, TikTok’s money-moving ambitions remain just that ambitions. But if the feature eventually makes the jump from app code to users’ chats, the platform could turn the humble direct message into a digital wallet with a social life attached.