I have 14 credit cards, and it’s a bit of a chore to get all the monthly statements collated and sort out the bills. I used CRED in the past to pay the bills, and while the service was good at the start, it has degraded to such a level over the last two years that I’m not comfortable sharing any data with it, so I was looking at alternatives.
That’s how I landed on Google Pay. Before I get started, a quick note on how Google Pay works; in typical Google fashion, Google Pay in India is totally different to what’s available in other markets, and the Indian service leverages the local Unified Payments Interface (UPI) architecture instead of being a payments service reliant on debit and credit cards like the global variant.
Google Pay makes it effortless to pay bills
Google Pay in India is fantastic, and I use it regularly to make UPI payments. I knew that the service also had billers, but it wasn’t until last month that I realized it facilitated credit card payments. It was extremely easy to add most of my credit cards, and the ability to pay all my cards within Google Pay is much more convenient than logging into an individual bank’s app and doing so.
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If anything, Google even lets you add NBFC options like OneCard. The credit card biller utility uses Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), which has been rebranded to Bharat Connect, and it is a unified system that lets you pay just about any bills, including credit cards. What I like the most is that payments made this way get an instant confirmation and credit, so you don’t have to wait a few days to see the amount credited in your card account.
How to add credit card billers to Google Pay
(Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
Honestly, it’s easier than I thought it would be to add credit cards to Google Pay to link the accounts and billing statements. This is how to do it:
Head into Google Pay.Navigate to the Bills and recharges section. Select Manage.In Payment categories, choose Credit cards.You will see a list of banks. Select the issuer, add the last four digits of your credit card, and choose the mobile number associated with the card.You should see your credit card biller details added to Google Pay. Whenever a new bill is generated, you’ll get a notification with the details, and you can pay from Google Pay.
The only quibble is that American Express still hasn’t switched over to this system, so with my Amex Gold and Travel Platinum, I still have to pay manually on the Amex India website. But with all other Indian banks-issued cards, I was able to set up the billers on Google Pay and automate payments.
This feature is exactly what I was looking for, and I’m glad there’s a viable alternative to CRED that’s easy to use and doesn’t hoover up all of my data. Google Pay also lets you add other bills — including broadband and mobile recharges — but for now, just having an easy way to pay the credit cards I use is good enough.