Google unveils mobile payments revamp as Android Pay, Wallet lives on for peer-to-peer payments

[Jos]

Google is taking another shot at mobile payments with the introduction of Android Pay today at its I/O developer conference. The service relies on NFC technology, much like its Wallet predecessor and its competitors, but apparently the process is more streamlined this time around with fingerprint recognition (if your phone supports it) and the use of “tokens” so your real card number is never shared with establishments -- similar to Apple Pay.

The move to this new token system first championed by Apple means users must link their debit and credit cards directly to Android Pay and will no longer be able to keep a balance in an Android Pay account, like they did with Wallet. On the upside this method is generally viewed as more secure.

No new hardware is required to support Android Pay, so as long as your phone is running Android 4.4 “KitKat” or later with NFC built in you should be good.

Google says around 700,000 stores will support Android Pay at launch, including some big names like Best Buy, Gamestop, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and McDonald’s. The app will come pre-installed on Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile phones and supports Visa, MasterCard, AmEx and Discover cards.

Android Pay is an open-platform API which means developers can integrate the service into their existing apps so you don’t need to fill in payment information each time you make an online purchase. Some early partners that will support Android Pay via their apps include Lyft, Grubhub, Chipotle, and Uber.

Although Android Pay is meant to replace Google Wallet, the latter will stick around as a peer-to-peer app for sending cash around between friends, competing with services like Venom and Facebook’s Messenger.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/60820-google-tries-mobile-payments-again-android-pay-wallet.html

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I couldn't be less interested in this, I'll still carry on paying with my debit/credit card until there is a global change in the way we pay.

 

[Kevin82485]

Hopefully retailers really start to get behind this. In today's world, paying with a plastic card is archaic and unsecured. I've had may credit card number stolen. Not sure how they did it, but I would guess it was from a data breach from somewhere I shopped. Apple and Android Pay encrypt your card number, so you don't t have to worry about your card number being stolen. It'll be an added cost to upgrade their point of sale machines, but it's beneficial to them so that they don't have to worry about some hacker stealing a huge database of credit card numbers and dealing with the scrutiny and cost of cleaning up the mess.

 

[Guest]

I just use cash.