TikTok is reportedly working on a feature that would let users send money to each other via direct messages.
Bloomberg reports that code in TikTok’s U.S. iOS app suggests it’s developing a peer-to-peer payment system for users. According to the uncovered code, senders will receive notifications regarding the status of their transactions, while receivers will be able to tap a button to accept incoming payments. Users will be able to attach messages to their transactions as well, keeping alive the well-worn tradition of sending cheeky captions with your Venmo transactions.
The new feature will reportedly work through TikTok Pay, an in-app payment system for TikTok Shop that is only available in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam at present. The U.S. TikTok Shop currently accepts PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, and Affirm, as well as credit and debit cards.
Despite TikTok’s code hinting at a peer-to-peer payment system, there’s no surefire guarantee that such functionality is coming to the platform, whether in Southeast Asia, the U.S., or elsewhere in the world. It isn’t uncommon for apps to begin developing and exploring ideas that are later scrapped, and a TikTok spokesperson told Bloomberg that the feature isn’t even being tested at present. As such, even if TikTok does eventually roll out payments in direct messages, it will likely be a while before we see it.
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Mashable has reached out to TikTok for comment.
TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance has previously set a precedent for offering similar financial services. Douyin, the version of TikTok that ByteDance offers in China, already supports peer-to-peer payments in its own payment system Douyin Pay. Though the U.S. government forced ByteDance to sell its American operations to a new, majority U.S.-owned company TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC earlier this year, ByteDance still retains a 19.9 percent ownership stake.
ByteDance also appears to be exploring further expansion of its financial services internationally. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that TikTok applied to Brazil’s central bank for licences that would allow it to operate as a lender, as well as to offer users prepaid accounts for holding money, making payments, and receiving funds.
Integration of payment services to social media platforms isn’t new. Facebook Messenger has offered peer-to-peer payments in the U.S. since 2015, while X’s launch of X Money in July introduced such functionality to its paid U.S. subscribers.
Even so, the already thriving use of TikTok for commerce could potentially give its peer-to-peer offering an edge. A recent report found that TikTok Shop users spent $50.3 billion on the platform globally during the first half of this year alone, with $11.8 billion of that coming from U.S. shoppers — one of its largest markets alongside Southeast Asia.
