TikTok is considering adding money transfers between users directly within private messages. If launched, the feature would mark another step by the platform into financial services.
TikTok could use its TikTok Pay system to process such transfers. The service already operates in Southeast Asia. References to the new feature were found in hidden code in the current version of TikTok’s iPhone app in the United States.
According to the code, recipients would be able to accept a transfer by tapping a button before a set deadline, while senders would receive updates on the transaction’s status through push notifications or the app’s internal inbox. Users could also attach a message to a payment—similar to the notes accompanying transfers on PayPal’s Venmo.
A TikTok spokesperson said the feature is not currently being tested in any market, meaning development remains at an early stage. TikTok Pay is currently available only in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand, where it is used to pay for purchases on TikTok Shop. The company could ultimately decide not to launch peer-to-peer transfers, but work on the functionality shows that ByteDance, the platform’s owner, is exploring the possibility.
TikTok’s expansion into financial services comes as social platforms seek to make money not only from advertising but also from commerce, while gaining more data about users’ purchasing behavior. Beijing-based ByteDance, which operates the global version of TikTok and several key elements of its U.S. business, has spent years developing its own payments infrastructure and investing in financial technology in an effort to increase user spending and the amount of time people spend interacting with the app.
According to Sensor Tower, users worldwide have spent more than $2.9 billion on TikTok since the start of this year. Since 2022, the app has ranked first globally in revenue from in-app purchases. In the United States, TikTok user spending exceeds the comparable figures for YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Financial transactions are already part of TikTok’s ecosystem. In addition to buying products from sellers through TikTok Shop, users can purchase virtual coins and send gifts to content creators and livestream hosts, who can then convert them into cash. Many users also list details for Venmo, Cash App, and other payment services on their profiles so they can receive transfers outside TikTok. Allowing users to send money directly through private messages would enable the platform to keep those transactions within its own ecosystem and derive more value from the payments associated with them.
TikTok and ByteDance are also hiring employees in the United States and other countries to develop financial products, according to published job listings. ByteDance executives working on payments include former senior JPMorgan Chase executives. The bank previously worked with the Chinese company to build its payments infrastructure despite national-security concerns raised by senior U.S. politicians.
Some of TikTok’s payment tools have already been the subject of lawsuits brought by U.S. state attorneys general. The suits alleged that certain platform features facilitated the sexual and financial exploitation of children and, in some cases, may have violated money-transmission laws or been used for money laundering.
TikTok is not the only social platform seeking to combine content, commerce, and financial services. Over the past year, Elon Musk has pushed to transform X, formerly known as Twitter, into an all-purpose app with payment features. Some content creators on X have already been allowed to test new tools, including X Money, that enable users to send money to one another.
TikTok Agreed to Transfer Its U.S. Business to a Joint Venture Controlled by American Investors
Control of American TikTok Shifted to Investors Linked to Donald Trump
