The highly anticipated launch of Android Pay, Google’s forthcoming payments platform and rival to Apple Pay is here, according to Tech Crunch. It allows consumers to pay using their Android smartphones at point of sale as well as make purchases within mobile applications.
Google’s replacement for Google Wallet, Android Pay, was up and running at several retailers as of September 10. The payment system employs Near-Field Communications in stores and is also available to use through the app store on Android phones. It allows users to “tap and pay” for purchases, and will support credit and debit cards from the four major payment networks: American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa.
With a gradual rollout, the payments technology will ultimately work at millions of locations, including Best Buy, McDonald’s, Macy’s, Walgreens, Subway, Whole Foods, Toys R Us, and other retailers. There are also plans to include banks and other stores over the next few months.
Google announced the development of Android Pay at the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco in May. Android Pay will allow people to unlock their phones near a merchant’s contactless terminal to pay. A confirmation and transaction details will appear on the phone.
The launch could have a significant impact on mobile payments because devices running Google’s Android make up the majority of smartphones in use worldwide and account for 40% of mobile traffic in the U.S.
“When you use a mobile app, it’s a more secure way, but as easy as swiping or tapping,” Laurence Cooke, founder and CEO of loyalty and payment platform nanoPay, told Retail Dive. “I don’t think Apple Pay can be completely successful everywhere without Android also being completely successful. My only opinion is that it should be up to retailers to choose. We shouldn’t try to force it,” a reference to CurrentC, the retailer-developed app that has had some initial growing pains.
The launch was so highly anticipated that some retailers actually began to advertise the service before it was actually live, causing some confusion for customers. The rollout is live now, however.
“Today we’re starting to roll out Android Pay, bringing our next generation mobile payments platform to Android users across the U.S. Mobile payments is an important area for Google, and this is just the beginning for Android Pay,” says Pali Bhat, Director, Product Management, Google. “We have a great set of partners that have contributed to the launch of Android Pay, and we’ll continue to work closely with the entire ecosystem to make paying with your Android phone simple, secure, and available everywhere.”
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