Google is currently working on a service called Pony Express that should make it possible to pay bills through Gmail. The service should make it possible to pay bills with credit and debit cards without leaving the Inbox and should become available by the end of this year.
To make use of the service, companies will need to send their bills by e-mail, after which users can pay them from their Gmail Inbox. Users therefore no longer have to visit the website of a shop or payment service to make a payment, according to the website Recode, who claims to have an internal Google document describing the Pony Express service.
The document describes the setup of the service, which requires users to add their name and their social security number. Once the service is enabled, bills will appear in Gmail in a folder called Pony Express. From there users can share the bill with other Gmail users and make a payment. It appears the service will first only become available in the United States, likely because the service requires a connection with the companies that send out bills.
It's not the first time that Google enters the electronic payment market. Previously the search giant introduced Google Wallet, the payment method for paid apps in the Google Play Store. Google also was an early adopter of NFC payments that are supported in Android.
