17 Facts About Google Wallet

Google Wallet is a digital wallet platform developed by Google.

The old Wallet app, with its functionality reduced to a peer-to-peer payments service, was rebranded Google Pay Send before it was discontinued as well in 2020.

In 2020, the Google Wallet Pay app underwent an extensive redesign based on Google Wallet's India-focused Tez app, expanding into an all-encompassing personal finance app.

In 2015, a physical Google Wallet card was launched as an optional addition to the app, which allowed users to make purchases at point-of-sale drawing from funds in their Google Wallet account, attached debit card account, or bank account.

The card could be used to withdraw cash at ATMs with no Google Wallet-associated fee, and could be used like a debit card for virtually any purpose, including such things as renting a car.

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The Google Wallet Card was discontinued on June 30,2016, and replaced with Android Pay.

Original version of Google Wallet allowed users to make point-of-sale purchases with their mobile devices using near-field communication technology.

The old Google Wallet still powered web-based Play Store purchases and some app-based peer-to-peer payments.

In 2016, Google Wallet began a public trial in Silicon Valley of a related mobile app called Hands Free.

On September 18,2017, Google Wallet launched a payments app in India known as Tez, utilizing the Unified Payments Interface.

On January 8,2018, Google announced that Google Wallet would be merged into Android Pay, with the service as a whole rebranded as Google Pay.

In January 2022, Bloomberg News reported that the company was planning to transform Google Pay into a "comprehensive digital wallet", following the app's reported slow growth and the shutdown of Plex.

On November 17,2020, Google Wallet Pay was enabled by Mastercard in ten new European countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, and Romania.

Cardholders of participating Mastercard partner banks for these countries will be able to use the Google Wallet Pay service through their respective mobile banking apps.

Google Wallet allows users to store items such as payment cards for use via Google Pay, as well as passes such as loyalty cards, digital keys, digital identification cards, transit passes, event tickets, and health passes.

Google Wallet has a passes feature, which exists in a larger ecosystem.

Walgreens enabled this first with their Balance Rewards loyalty program in 2015; customers can add their card to Google Wallet and be able to tap their phone to the terminal when prompted for their rewards card.