Google’s mobile payment service begins rolling out today, allowing you to use your phone as if it were a credit card or debit card at participating retailers in the United States.

Android Pay isn’t the only option for mobile payments: Google is competing with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. But Google’s solution should work with a huge number of phones, since it supports just about any smartphone running Android 4.4 or later as long as it has an NFC chip.

android pay_02

At launch, Google says Android Pay can be used at more than a million retail locations. Participating stores include Staples, Walgreens, Toys R Us, Office Depot, BJ’s, Whole Foods, GameStop, and Rite Aid, just to name a few.

To use Android Pay, you’ll need to link your phone with your credit card, bank, or credit union. The service supports MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, and a number of major US banking institutions. Worried that someone will intercept your banking details when you pull out your phone to make a wireless payment? Android Pay doesn’t actually use your bank/credit card number. Instead it generates a virtual account number.

Google also plans to expand Android Pay so that you can use it for store loyalty cards and special offers as well as purchases made through apps.

If you’re already using Google Wallet on your Android device, the next update will convert the app into Android Pay. New users will be able to download Android Pay from the Google Play Store.

AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon will also be pre-loading Android Pay on NFC-capable Android phones.

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,547 other subscribers

4 replies on “Android Pay brings mobile payments to millions of Android phones”

  1. What about the UK darnit! I’m seeing plenty of places start supporting contactless payment and I want to get in on the action!

  2. This is Google Wallet renamed except that now EVERY bank and card must SUPPORT Google Pay before they can work with Google Pay. You can’t just enter the account or card details. This nonsense will roll in over time for existing Wallet entries it seems. So TL;DR “Google Renames Google Wallet to Google Pay, then Promptly KILLS Google Pay”. Stoopid Google…

  3. Android Pay brings mobile payments to millions of android phones that already had mobile pay when it was called Google Wallet*

Comments are closed.