TikTok on the path to becoming a super app – from content to cash?

TikTok’s new payment feature

According to Bloomberg reports, TikTok is currently developing a new payment feature intended to allow users to send money directly via private messages. Indications of this plan were discovered in the iPhone app’s source code.

The service will presumably be based on the existing “TikTok Pay” technology, which is already available in Asia. With this move, the platform is entering into direct competition with established financial services providers such as Venmo and is following the trend of other social networks that are evolving into comprehensive, multifunctional applications.

Although the company has not yet confirmed that the feature is in active testing, this move underscores its ambition to make the leap from an entertainment-only platform into the realm of payment solutions. This expansion is part of a series of new features – ranging from e-commerce to booking systems – aimed at increasing user engagement on the platform.