TikTok Could Let Users Send Money In DMs With Venmo-Like Payments

TikTok says it is not testing peer-to-peer payments, yet code reportedly hidden inside its current U.S. iPhone app suggests the platform is developing a way for users to send money directly through DMs.

If released, the feature could push TikTok further beyond social media and into financial services, putting its messaging experience closer to payment platforms such as Venmo and Zelle.
 

TL;DR

 

• TikTok is reportedly developing peer-to-peer payments that would let users send money through direct messages.
• Code found in its U.S. iPhone app indicates recipients could “tap to accept” payments and senders could attach messages.
• TikTok told Bloomberg the feature is not being tested, suggesting it remains in early development with no confirmed launch timeline.

 

TikTok Peer-To-Peer Payments Could Bring Money Transfers Directly Into DMs

According to Bloomberg, references to the potential payment feature were found in code hidden within the current version of TikTok’s U.S. iPhone app. The code points to an experience in which users could send money inside direct messages, while recipients would be able to “tap to accept” the payment.

Senders could also include a message alongside the transfer, making the experience similar to Venmo. If TikTok moves ahead with the feature, the payments would reportedly use TikTok Pay, its existing payment offering used for TikTok Shop purchases in Southeast Asia.

There is one important catch. TikTok told Bloomberg that the feature is not being tested, which indicates the payments tool may still be at an early development stage.

That also means there is no confirmed launch date, and it remains unclear whether TikTok will release peer-to-peer payments broadly at all. TikTok did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
 

 

TikTok’s Financial Services Ambitions Already Extend Beyond Social Payments

The reported feature would not be TikTok’s first move toward financial services. Reuters reported earlier this year that TikTok applied to Brazil’s central bank for approval to operate as a financial technology company offering lending and payment services.

That effort, combined with the reported DM payment functionality and the existing TikTok Pay service, suggests the company is exploring financial tools across multiple parts of its ecosystem rather than treating payments solely as a checkout feature for TikTok Shop.

However, with the peer-to-peer feature still reportedly in development, it remains unclear how far TikTok intends to take those ambitions or which markets could eventually gain access.
 

TikTok Keeps Expanding Beyond Short-Form Video And Social Media

Payments would also fit into TikTok’s broader expansion beyond its original short-form video format. Over time, the platform has added increasingly varied functions, including robust search, TikTok Shop, a local discovery map, games and hotel bookings.

Adding direct money transfers could further increase the number of everyday activities users can complete without leaving TikTok. More importantly, it would move direct messages from being primarily a communication feature toward becoming another potential transaction layer within the app.

That evolution would bring TikTok into a market already occupied by established payment services and other social platforms pursuing similar ambitions.
 

 

TikTok DM Payments Could Put It Closer To Venmo, Zelle And X Money

If peer-to-peer payments eventually launch, TikTok would be competing more directly with services such as Venmo and Zelle for person-to-person transfers.

TikTok would not be alone among social platforms moving in that direction. X, formerly known as Twitter, recently launched X Money to allow users to send money to each other, highlighting the growing overlap between social platforms, messaging and financial services.

For now, TikTok’s DM payments remain a feature visible in code rather than a confirmed product. Still, their appearance inside the U.S. iPhone app offers another indication of how far TikTok may be willing to stretch beyond its social media roots.