Google has unveiled Android Pay, a feature that enables Android phone users to pay for purchases in apps or in store with the tap of a button.
Much like Apple’s Apple Pay feature, Android Pay will allow Android users to pay in physical stores by unlocking their phone and placing it near a merchant’s terminal, in the same way Mastercard’s PayPass and Visa’s Paywave works for credit and debit cards.
There’s no word on if or when the feature will be available in Australia. The Android Pay app will be available for download in the United States soon and will be accepted in over 700,000 store locations. Its one tap in-app payment method will also be available in over 1000 mobile apps.
In a blog post, Google’s director of product management, Pali Bhat, said Google developed Android Pay in partnership with members of the Android ecosystem.
“So we’ve approached Android Pay the same way we approach every other part of the Android family – partnering with the ecosystem – bringing together mobile carriers, payment networks, banks and retailers to deliver you choice and flexibility. And offering developers an open platform to collectively push mobile payments forward,” Bhat said.
Kye began his career at a Fairfax daily on the North-West Coast of Tasmania. He has since taken his belongings, and keen interest in technology, to Melbourne. He has a bachelor of Arts majoring in Political Science from the University of Tasmania and a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from RMIT University.
