TikTok Found in App Code: P2P Payments for DMs Not Being Tested

TikTok is exploring a new feature that would allow users to send money directly to one another within the app's direct messages, a move that signals a significant expansion of the platform's financial services. Evidence of the potential peer-to-peer payment system was discovered in the code of TikTok's latest US iPhone application, though the company has confirmed the feature is not currently in testing.

The discovery, first reported by Bloomberg, indicates that the functionality would be built upon TikTok Pay, the platform's existing in-app payment network. Code suggests that recipients could accept payments with a tap before an expiration date and that senders would receive notifications on the status of their transactions. Senders would also be able to attach captions to payments, a feature similar to that offered by services like Venmo.

A TikTok spokesperson stated that there is no test of this feature in any market, placing it firmly in the early development stage. TikTok Pay is presently operational in select Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand, where it facilitates purchases within TikTok Shop. An expansion of this network into...