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Google Pay now lets Las Vegas Monorail riders use phones to board
Google announced today that it's making purchasing and using tickets for the Las Vegas Monorail a little bit simpler. Now, riders will be able to buy tickets online through the Monorail site, save them to Google Pay and then just wave their phone near the fare gate to board. You don't even need to open the app. Once your ticket has been accepted, a blue check mark pops up on your screen and you're good to go.
Google Pay is the new Android Pay
Google recently admitted that Android Pay and Google Wallet probably didn't need to exist as two different services. After a fictional, Highlander-style battle, it was Google Pay that emerged victorious, taking on a new name to define this united brand. And so today, Android Pay becomes Google Pay. The app still does everything you'd expect it to, though there's a new Home tab that puts recent transactions, nearby stores and rewards in one place. The Cards tab, on the other hand, is more a catalog of your payment cards, gift cards, loyalty schemes and offers. Unexpectedly, Google Pay doesn't actually include Google Wallet functionality, meaning you can't use it to send or request money. Not yet, anyway.
Google Wallet and Android Pay are finally united under one brand
Google's payment strategy has been more than a little confusing. It originally offered tap-to-pay under the Google Wallet badge, but it moved that functionality to Android Pay while turning Google Wallet into a money transfer service. Thankfully, Google knows it's a mess and is cleaning things up. The search giant is uniting all its payment efforts under a singular Google Pay brand. Whether you're tapping your phone at the cashier, buying a gift on the web or paying a friend for last night's pizza, you'll see the same name.
Gmail for Android can send and receive payments as attachments
The Gmail app for Android has scored what used to be a web-only feature. It now has Google Wallet integration, so you can send and request money right within your emails. Say, you need to split the bill for a dinner -- all you need to do is tap the attachment icon and click "Send money" to pay your friend. A Google Wallet pop up will ask you how much you want to send and will forward your payment as an attachment.
Google Wallet launches a streamlined web app
Google Wallet may have killed off physical debits cards earlier this year, but the service is now making it easier to send and receive money with the card you already have. With the launch of the Google Wallet web app, all you need to accept online payments from friends is a browser and debit card tied to your Google account.
Google Wallet introduces automatic transfers
Google has just pushed out an update to its Wallet mobile app that allows automatic transfers to your bank account. Previously, if you wanted to use money from the account elsewhere you'd have to go in and cash out your Google Wallet balance first. Omitting this part should be a boon for regular users who don't have to remember an extra step just to have access to their cash.
Google is deprecating the Wallet card at the end of April
Google announced on Thursday that it will no longer support the physical debit cards tied to users' Wallet accounts beginning July 1. Instead, Google plans to press forward with development on its mobile app.
Google will give $1 for special ed every time you use Android Pay
After Android Pay's slow rollout throughout the US, it's finally available to everyone -- well, those with a compatible device anyway. In the spirit of giving (or trying to get more people using the service), Google has teamed up with DonorsChoose.org to support special needs children in US schools. Through December 31st, Google will donate $1 for every purchase made through Android Pay, with a total of up to $1 million. The idea is to create an interactive classroom environment so kids who struggle to engage aren't left out. What's more, Android Pay will double its donations for every purchase made on Black Friday. As if you needed another reason to spend big on the most insane shopping day of the year.[Image credit: AOL]
Google releases revamped Wallet for iPhones and iPads
Apple's mobile devices are never going to get Android Pay, but Google has released its repurposed Wallet app for iOS anyway. Just like its Android counterpart, the app is now decked in green (with the new logo!) and focuses on person-to-person payments. If you've never used it before, note that you can use Wallet to split tabs with friends, send and receive payments, which you can then cash out to a debit card. It doesn't look like Mountain View listed it as a separate download on iTunes like it did on Google Play, so you can just update your old app to get the new one.
Android Pay reaches Google Play, ready for all in the US
Sure, Android Pay started its slow rollout last week, but with Google's staged distribution you probably didn't have it yet. Now, the Android team has announced it's officially available on Google Play, so if you live in the US, you should have it on your NFC-equipped phone with Android 4.4 or higher, replacing the old Google Wallet app. Just add a card and you'll be ready to tap-to-pay (even if you were already set up with Wallet). Of course, even with the slow rollout, some people have had issues with compatibility, using the app on rooted phones or receiving errant messages about unsupported cards. Some of those may be fixed if you have the latest version of Google Play Services, so check that first, while others like fingerprint verification need Android Marshmallow.
Android Pay is available starting today
Android Pay, Google's tap-to-pay smartphone wallet, starts rolling out today, the company announced in a blog post. Android Pay will gradually hit all compatible devices over the next few days and it's accepted at more than 1 million locations across the US, including Toys 'R' Us, GameStop, Panera, Walgreens, Macy's, Subway and Whole Foods. Android Pay stores your credit, debit, gift and loyalty cards, and allows users to pay simply by unlocking their phones and placing them near an NFC-connected terminal. Yeah, it's a bit like Apple Pay.
Google's new Wallet app makes its way to the Play Store
Google has clothed its Wallet app in a pleasant green hue, made it look crisper, and then sent it to the Play Store with its edgier (literally) new logo. In fact, Mountain View has released it as a brand new download instead of as an update to the old app, most likely to prepare for Android Pay's arrival. This way, people can continue using the revamped Wallet app for peer-to-peer payments, even after Google transforms the old one into Android Pay through the latest mobile platform to instantly turn everyone into users.
Rite Aid to start accepting Apple Pay and other mobile payments
Nearly a year after shutting off support for Apple Pay and other NFC-based payments, Rite Aid has announced that will be changing soon. On August 15th, the drug store is set to begin accepting mobile checkouts at around 4,600 locations across the US. This includes Apple Pay, Google Wallet and, in the future, Android Pay. Last year, Rite Aid along with CVS pulled support for these type of payment solutions due to contractual ties with the Merchant Customer Exchange, a retailer group that has its own wallet system called CurrentC -- though it relies on QR codes, which is arguably an outdated method in 2015. Now there's an excuse to pull out your Apple Watch the next time you're at Rite Aid, buying shampoo or whatever it is you get there.
Android Pay's arrival means a new direction for Google Wallet
As we suspected, you'll be hearing more about the new Android Pay setup -- announced a couple of months ago during Mobile World Congress -- during the Google I/O event this week. According to a New York Times report, Android Pay will let retailers take payments from inside their mobile apps, use it at brick-and-mortar retail locations, and automatically update the customer's status in store loyalty programs. Like Google, retailers are interested in using those loyalty programs to track trends among their customers, and the report goes on to claim that Apple Pay will add a similar tie-in within the next month or so. So what will become of Google Wallet? Apparently, it will be reintroduced with a focus on sending money directly between two people to go along with being preinstalled on carrier phones. The mobile payment wars are just beginning, and potential competitors like Facebook and Samsung have their own plans too -- expect more details from all sides soon. [Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Your Google Wallet funds are now insured
The money in your bank account is typically covered by federal insurance, but your internet payment services typically aren't. If PayPal or Venmo went belly-up, you'd probably lose your existing balance. That won't be a problem if you're using Google Wallet, though. Google is now holding your Wallet funds in banks with FDIC insurance, so your digital credit is now that much safer. This isn't to say that rivals leave you completely vulnerable -- PayPal has fraud protection, for instance. However, the Wallet move means that you won't have to go to court to get your cash back if Google goes bankrupt, no matter how unlikely that is.
Order a donut from your phone faster than ever with Google Wallet
Mobile payment system Google Wallet now works with the Dunkin' Donuts and Seamless apps, once again shortening the amount of time in the day that your mouth isn't filled with delicious, fried dough. The Dunkin' Donuts app allows customers to order and pay before entering an actual store, and Seamless is a local food-delivery service available in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Houston and a few other cities. Google Wallet gets rid of the credit card entry process for these apps, and it already works with a slew of other services, including Panda Express, Papa John's, Domino's, Hotel Tonight and Newegg. It's so nice when major corporations make it even easier for us to order a plate of fried noodles, dessert, a hotel room and a brand new Bluetooth speaker system. You know, the essentials.
The big US carriers will shut down their mobile wallet this month
There was no question that AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon gave up on their Softcard mobile payment service when they agreed to pre-install Google Wallet, but it's now apparent that they're beating an especially hasty retreat. Softcard is telling users that its service will stop working after March 31st -- when April rolls around, both the app and your account go bye-bye. It's doubtful that you'll shed a tear for an offering that was mostly meant to stifle competition, but you will have to choose another tap-to-pay service fairly quickly if you happen to be one of the remaining customers. Thankfully, there won't be a shortage of alternatives any time soon.
Google Wallet to come pre-installed on phones for major carriers
In an ironic turn, Google is now partnering with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to bring its Google Wallet mobile payment app to their Android phones later this year. Yes, those are the same carriers who made life pretty difficult for Google with their own payment solution, Softcard (formerly called Isis). The real point of this deal: Wallet will be pre-installed on Android phones running KitKat or higher, which makes it far more likely that people will actually use it. Google's also acquiring some technology and intellectual property from Softcard, though it's unclear what exactly it's getting. Sure, it feels as if we're in the mobile payments Twilight Zone -- Softcard was the main reason Google couldn't bring Wallet to every single Android phone. But now that Apple Pay is taking off (even the US government wants in on the action), and Samsung is gearing up for its own wallet by buying LoopPay, Google has to do something to rev up its own mobile payment action. And that starts with making Google Wallet a default feature, rather than being an app people have to discover and install on their own.
WSJ: Google to resurrect mobile payments with Softcard purchase
Don't call it a comeback. Okay, maybe you should: Google wants to revive Wallet after seeing how popular Apple Pay has been, according to The Wall Street Journal. To do so, Mountain View is apparently in the early stages of a deal to take ownership of the carrier-owned Softcard as part of this Lazarus act for its mobile payment system. Previously, carriers in the United States were reticent to preload Wallet onto their devices because, at the time, they were trying to launch ISIS, going so far as to block the chip that stores credit card info. Times are different now, as WSJ tells it, because neither AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon gets a cut from Cupertino with surprise hit Apple Pay -- something that'd change by working with Google. How's that? The internet behemoth will reportedly pay them to feature Wallet on their Android phones and give them a bigger cut of the money it makes off of ads that live inside mobile searches.
Google and Square prep new payment options in the wake of Apple Pay
There's no denying Apple Pay has grabbed a share of retail payments, and the support of banks, since its arrival. However, it appears both Google and Square are working on new products to keep customers' attention. According to The Information, the folks in Mountain View are testing a service called "Plaso" that would allow Android users to say their initials at the register in order to complete a transaction. Unfortunately, there aren't any specifics on how that would work with Google Wallet: the system for cashless payments that arrived long before Apple Pay, but never really took off. Of course, Google will have to do more with its upcoming release than just handle payments. The Apple Watch is launching soon, and that wearable, along with the newest NFC-equipped iPhones, could sort public transit passes, building security credentials and more.
