TikTok Could Let Users Send Money Without Leaving Their DMs as It Explores Peer-to-Peer Payments

TikTok is exploring a feature that could let users send money to one another through direct messages, according to code found in the US version of its iPhone app.

The feature would use TikTok Pay and could allow users to complete peer-to-peer transfers within a conversation. The reported code includes options for recipients to accept payments, notifications for transaction status and a message field that could be attached to a payment.

Money Could Move Inside TikTok Chats

The reported feature would place peer-to-peer payments directly inside TikTok’s messaging system.

The code indicates that a recipient could tap to accept a payment before an expiration date. Senders could receive updates through push notifications or their inbox about the status of a transfer.

Users could also add a note to a payment, a function similar to the captions available with peer-to-peer services such as Venmo.

The reported system would run through TikTok Pay.

TikTok Pay is already used in parts of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand, for payments connected with TikTok Shop.

A US peer-to-peer service would therefore represent a different use of the existing payment infrastructure. Instead of a payment tied to a purchase, the reported feature would allow one TikTok user to transfer money directly to another.

TikTok Has Been Expanding Payments

The payment feature fits into a wider expansion of TikTok’s financial services activity.

TikTok already operates payment functions connected with its platform. Users can purchase virtual coins and send gifts to creators during livestreams. TikTok also supports payments through TikTok Shop in several markets.

The company has explored financial services in other countries as well. Reuters reported earlier this year that TikTok had applied to Brazil’s central bank for authorisation to operate as a fintech company. The proposed activities included payment and lending services.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has also developed payments infrastructure in China through Douyin, the Chinese version of the platform.

The potential US feature would extend that broader payments strategy into direct user-to-user transfers.

The Feature Could Challenge Payment Apps

If released, the service would put TikTok closer to payment platforms such as Venmo, Zelle and Cash App.

The reported design would also distinguish TikTok’s approach from standalone payment applications because the transfer would take place inside an existing social conversation.

The feature could allow users to discuss a payment and complete the transaction within the same app. But TikTok has not said that this is the purpose of the project or provided details about how the service would work beyond what was found in the app code.

There are also regulatory requirements that would apply to any US peer-to-peer payment service. Depending on how the product is structured, TikTok could face requirements related to money transmission, customer identification, fraud controls and anti-money-laundering procedures.

Those details have not been announced.

TikTok, in an official statement said that the feature is not currently being tested in any market. There is no confirmed launch date and the company has not said whether it will release the feature to users.

The discovery nevertheless shows how TikTok is exploring the use of its existing payments infrastructure beyond purchases made through TikTok Shop.

TikTok Says It Is Not Testing the Feature

For now, the payment system remains a development project rather than a product available to TikTok users.

The reported code was found in the current US iPhone application. TikTok’s statement that the feature is not being tested means the presence of the code does not establish that a public launch is imminent.

TikTok has not provided a launch timetable or confirmed which users or markets could receive the feature if development continues.

The company is also not alone among social platforms in exploring payments. X has been developing its own financial services through X Money and has begun rolling out peer-to-peer payment functions in the United States.

For TikTok, the reported DM feature would take another step toward keeping financial transactions inside the platform. The company already handles commerce through TikTok Shop and payments linked to creator activity. A peer-to-peer transfer system would add direct money movement between users to that mix.

For now, however, TikTok is only exploring the feature. The company has not committed to releasing it.