NEW YORK: Google is working on a mobile payment service called Android Pay according to Ars Technica.
A source close to Ars Technica said the company is working on the service, and will make an official announcement at its I/O developer conference later this year. The soon to be launched service, according to the report, will create a way for companies to accept transactions through their apps without having to introduce their own individual payment platforms.
Users will be able to add their credit or debit card information, which will allow payments to become a single-tap transaction within the app. Also, companies who adopt the Android Pay will be able to allow “tap-to-pay transactions in brick-and-mortar stores.” This service will however, not replace Google’s other payment service, the Wallet. It will reply on the Google’s Host Card Emulation (HCE), which makes it stress-free for third-party apps to make use of Android phones’ “Near Field Communications (NFC) chips.
Last week, Google announced the acquisition of Softcard in its continued bid to improve Wallet service. The deal to acquire the payment service which was entered into with three telecom giants Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, will see Google Wallet preinstalled on all Google Android devices in the US from later this year.
The Wallet allows users to make payment anywhere NFC is accepted. Google’s Vice President of Payments, Ariel Bardin, while announcing the deal to acquire Softcard said:
“So today, we’re excited to announce that we’re working with AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, as well as their mobile payments company Softcard, to help more Android users get the benefits of tap and pay. Under this relationship, the Google Wallet app, including the tap and pay functionality, will come pre-installed on Android phones (running KitKat or higher) sold by these carriers in the US later this year. We’re also acquiring some exciting technology and intellectual property from Softcard to make Google Wallet better.”
The tap-to-pay feature of the Google Wallet was added by the company in 2011, and has continued to enjoy tremendous growth since then. It works (of course that is expected) on Android devices, and on any carrier network. The service is available at any location where NFC is accepted.
With Android Pay, Google will not only be able to compete with Apple Pay, but will also be able to add more payment options to the App.
