Google working on project to let users receive and pay bills directly inside gmail

The company is currently working on a project that will allow Gmail users to more easily receive bills in their email inbox instead of their mailbox. Called Pony Express, the service also is designed to let people pay their bills within Gmail, rather than having to go to a telecom or utility company’s website to complete a payment, according to an internal document seen by Recode.net.

The service is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter, according to the document. Google is refusing to comment.

To sign up, users would have to hand over their names, addresses and social security numbers to be able to start receiving their bills to Gmail or Google’s new Inbox app, and then to pay them with a linked bank account or debit card through the click of a button. Bills can also be automatically forwarded to other Gmail users, such as roommates.

Google is working with third party vendors that mail out bills for financial services firms, utilities and telcos on the Pony Express venture.

„With Pony Express, Google could suck in the type of financial data that would allow it to expand into new businesses. Credit card bills and payment history would be a gateway into industries such as personal finance or lending. And the data could be used to refine how advertisements are targeted to individuals on Google, YouTube and partnering sites, though such a move would likely stoke privacy concerns. It’s not clear whether Google would generate any revenue directly from the Pony Express service.”, says recode.net