Over a month ago, Google’s vice president of product management for payments Pali Bhat announced that their existing payment features Google Wallet and Android Pay would be consolidated into one platform. The announcement, made via a blog entry, revealed that this was a rebranding into the new Google Pay service. The goal was to unify the payment platforms offered by the tech giant as well as to make the process simpler for its users.
It looks like Google Pay is ready to be made official since Google launched the new Google Pay for Android. This launch signifies the move from Android Pay onto the new platform. And along with making this official, Google has rolled out an Android Pay update that would result to an ubiquitous payment service for in store and online payments.
Google has also redesigned the Google Wallet app and has rebranded this into Google Pay Send. The app allows users to send and request money through the app. Users in both the United States and the United Kingdom will be able to use the app to send and request money. Those who still have not downloaded the app may download it from the Play Store. Meanwhile, existing Android Pay users may expect the update to arrive in the next few days.
Upon first impressions, the newly launched Google Pay app appears to be a redesigned Android Pay app. It even comes with the same aesthetic as Google’s own Material Design compared to its original look. Functionality wise, the app does not feature anything that appears to be too different. There is, however, a new section on the app’s home screen where you can see relevant stores near you where Google Pay is accepted as a form of payment. This list curates personalized data such as your geographic location and the previous stores where the service was used. The home screen also lets you see the recent purchases you have made. Finally, you can still add your loyalty cards to the app so you will not have to carry so many cards with you wherever you go.
One of the biggest features of Google Pay is that users can easily use the service to make payments offline and online. And since Google Pay has partnered with Bank of America, it is so easy to set up service directly on the app of the bank. What this means is that even if Google Pay has not yet been installed, the setup process can already be done with. As soon as the setup has been completed, you can start making payments with Google Pay.
Websites and apps that wish to support Google Pay’s feature simply have to speak with a Google API to check if a user has enabled the platform and he can accept payments through it. Bhat shared that a very simple API is provided to developers in order to start implementing Google Pay right away. Since payment is not being processed, the API is created simply with secure credentials.
As of this writing, Google Pay is being supported by apps like Hotel Tonight, DoorDash, and Airbnb.
