Google has announced a new mobile payments app, Android Pay to be launched in the UK soon. The app which is a revamped version of the company’s Google Wallet which used near-field communications (NFC) to send payment information from an Android phone to a contactless terminal.
The new app will be compatible with Transport for London. With Android Pay, you will be able to pay for bus, tube and train fares. For tube rides, the app will use a notification to remind you if you leave a destination station without taping out. This way, it will help you avoid getting a ticket and eases work for Transport for London while collecting fares.
Android pay will support Visa or MasterCard debit or credit cards from various supported banks such as First Direct, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, HSBC, M&S Bank, Nationwide Building Society and Bank of Scotland.
Conspicuously missing in the list of supported banks is Barclays which recently launched its own contactless payment app. Their app allows one to make up to £30 payment with just a tap of their phone and between £30 and £100 payment with a tap and a PIN entry.
Google assures business owners with contactless terminals that they won’t need to do anything to accept payments from Android Pay.
Android Pay looks to launch a deal-focused programme called Android Pay Day which will initially be exclusive to the UK. This will be to encourage sign-ups and widespread use of the service owing to the stiff competition in the mobile and contactless payment market. Google says a new deal will be posted the week before pay day every month, starting with Starbucks UK and Deliveroo where Android Pay users will be rewarded.