Why does Google Pay require location permission? Google Pay uses mobile numbers and UPI to transact money.

Why does it require location permissions?
Apparently, Google Pay is more than just for payments. One of its features (or bloat) is that it can find jobs for you based on your profile and location, et al.
Per Google Pay Help:

How do I find specific types of jobs?
We recommend jobs for you based on your profile info, location, preferences and your activity in the app.
To find specific types of jobs, make sure that you update your profile info, location and preferences to reflect the sort of jobs that you’re interested in.