In a recent update, Google has declared that the standalone Google Pay app will be discontinued in the United States on June 4, 2024, as part of its strategy to consolidate its payment services. This move aims to streamline Google’s payment offerings by focusing on Google Wallet, which has gained significant traction over Google Pay, boasting five times the user base across 180 countries.

GPay to remain in Singapore, India

Google Pay, while being phased out as a standalone app in the US, will continue to operate in Singapore and India, catering to the specific requirements of these markets. Google emphasizes that this decision is driven by the desire to simplify its payment systems for users and developers alike.

Despite the discontinuation of the Google Pay app, its services will not vanish entirely. Users in the US will still have access to essential Google Pay functionalities, such as payment management and in-store payments, through Google Wallet. However, the ability to make peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, manage balances directly within the app, and find offers and deals will be removed. Google suggests utilizing the deals feature available on Google Search as an alternative for finding offers and deals post-shutdown.

For those concerned about their balances within Google Pay, there will be an option to transfer funds to a bank account via the Google Pay website after June 4, 2024.

The transition marks another chapter in Google’s evolving payment ecosystem, which began with Google Wallet in 2011 and underwent various transformations through the introduction of Android Pay in 2015 and the merging of these services into Google Pay in 2018. With Google Wallet now taking precedence, it accommodates a wider array of functionalities beyond payments, including storing transport passes, state IDs, driver’s licenses, and even virtual car keys, leveraging newer technologies like ultra-wideband (UWB) for enhanced compatibility.

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Google Pay, an online payment app used widely by Indian users, has begun charging consumers an additional fee for prepaid recharge purchases, following in the footsteps of PhonePe and Paytm.

The app has more than 60 million active users, making it the second-most popular payment app in India. The program, sometimes referred to as GPay, is most well-known for its P2M and P2P UPI transactions.

Previously, consumers just had to pay the amount the telecom operator charged for the service, which made the service completely free. It appears that Google is now looking into methods to make money from India’s multibillion-dollar digital payments industry.

According to recent reports, users who recharge their mobile prepaid plans via Google Pay, also known as GPay, may soon be subject to convenience costs of up to 3 rupees. With Google joining this bandwagon, it seems that the only way to stay away from convenience costs is to buy recharge plans through the operator’s website.

Currently, Google Pay only imposes these costs on mobile recharges; but other transactions, including paying utility bills, are still free. There are no additional fees for UPI transactions on Google Pay, both for commercial and personal use.

Google has not yet made the new convenience charge adjustment official. However, on November 10, 2023, Google secretly altered its Terms of Service for India.

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Google is known for its innovative technology and services, but what if they suddenly started giving away money? It’s an intriguing thought, but not a realistic business strategy. However, some Pixel users on the r/GooglePixel subreddit have reported receiving unexpected payments from Google, ranging from a few dollars to over $1,000. The notifications claimed the payments were rewards for “dogfooding” the Google Pay Remittance experience, meaning testing new features or services from the company.

While it might sound too good to be true, some lucky Pixel users have discovered the cash in their Google Pay accounts. Tech journalist Mishaal Rahman was one of the accidental recipients, tweeting, “Uhhh, Google Pay seems to just be randomly giving users free money right now. I just opened Google Pay and saw that I have $46 in ‘rewards’ that I got ‘for dogfooding the Google Pay Remittance experience.'” The unexpected cash deposits have left users wondering how much Google paid out and how many were chosen at random.

Although the idea of Google giving away money seems unlikely, the company appears to have made no effort to retrieve the accidental payments. In an email to recipients, Google apologized for the unintended credit but stated, “If we were not able to reverse the credit, the money is yours to keep. No further action is necessary.” It’s unclear how long the payments will continue or how many users will receive them, but for now, some Pixel owners are enjoying an unexpected windfall.

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Google is apparently offering a new product that is strictly for merchants in India. The company’s Google Pay brand is introducing a Soundpod device that is similar to the ones offered by other brands like Paytm and PhonePe.

For those unaware, Google Pay, Paytm, and PhonePe are popular UPI payment apps in India. Apart from the Search Engine giant, the two other firms offered a Soundpod to merchant that helped offer audio feedback of payments being received on their accounts. Now, it appears that Google Pay is also working on such a device that features an in built speaker as well as an LCD panel to notify users that payments have been successful.

This device will support different languages as well. As of right now, the company has reportedly offered this gadget to a select group of merchants at no extra cost. In other words, the device is still being tested in a small scale, with merchants getting the new soundboxes for free. Alternative platforms like Paytm, PhonePe, and BharatPe already offer such devices, so it is no surprise that Google Pay is also working on its own version of this soundpod.

As per sources close to the matter, Google has already started distributing the new devices across sellers in North India, including the capital region of New Delhi. Apart from just offering audio announcement for successful payments, the LCD panel will display the payment amount, battery, network status, and manual controls.

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Google Pay is a digital payment service that has gained popularity in markets like India. And now the search giant is planning to make it even more compelling by adding features like crypto payments.

In a new Bloomberg report, Google’s president of commerce Bill Ready stated that Google has hired former PayPal executive Arnold Goldberg as part of a company-wide push into financial services, including crypto. Arnold Goldberg has been recruited to become the vice president and general manager for the payments and emerging market efforts — an initiative Google calls Next Billion Users, or NBU.

So far, Google has not confirmed its plans to include support for crypto payments in its digital wallet app. However, Ready stated that “Crypto is something we pay a lot of attention to. As user demand and merchant demand evolves, we’ll evolve with it.”

This indicates that we may see Google include this feature in their wallet if the crypto market evolves and demand for the feature rises.

Ready also revealed that Google will be adding more features to Google Pay soon to make it a more “comprehensive digital wallet”. Some of these upcoming features include digital ticket support, airline passes, and vaccine passports.

These new efforts come after Google shelved its plans to add bank accounts to its payment app. The project included a revamp of the app which would enable users to apply for “Plex” checking and savings accounts from 11 banks but the search giant scrapped it in October 2021.

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Amidst the increasing actions of several governments in banning the trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies within their financial systems, there are indications that these currencies will still remain with us for some time. As a matter of fact, the use of cryptocurrency as means of payment continues to proliferate. Recently, Twitter announced that it was considering the use of bitcoin.  Now, Samsung Pay and Google Pay may join the fray soon.

Cryptocurrencies remain a popular mode of international transactions with the potential for greater stability. And now, it has been reported that very soon, Google Pay and Samsung Pay will accept payments made with Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. This information emanated from BitPay, a foremost cryptocurrency provider and payment platform.

If the plans scale through, then Google and Samsung will be joining Apple as platforms that now have the functionality and capacity to process cryptocurrency payments of users on the platform for goods and services. BitPay also hinted that it hopes to bring Google Pay and Samsung Pay support as early as March 2021 if all things go according to the plans.

Users on both platforms would be able to link their BitPay cryptocurrency card to Google Pay and Samsung Pay, thereby making it possible to make seamless payments on the platforms using cryptocurrencies. Supported cryptocurrencies on the service include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, BUSD, Ether, PAX, USDC, and GUSD.

While the specifics and exact timelines for these activities have not been provided by BitPay, it is expected to follow a similar trajectory like what occurred with Apple Pay. At this time, neither Google nor Samsung had released a statement affirming or denying the news.

We keep our fingers crossed as further developments evolve.

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According to the report, a couple of Google Pay users in India have noticed the presence of the option to add a credit or debit card as a supported payment option in the Google Pay app. The option is ye to be rolled out statewide but Google is said to have been expanding its A/B testing to more users over the last couple of weeks. The feature is most probably a server-side switch and doesn’t seem to require to be on the most recent version of the app.

Google has created a support page up which explains how users can set up their cards to use with Google Pay. The steps outlined include filling in their card details (card number, expiry date, CVV, etc.) and authenticate the details using the One-Time Password. If the feature is activated for a user and he is verified, the user will be able to make tokenized card payments at NFC-enabled POS terminals in addition to QR-based payments at vendors, and online payments on 3rd-party merchants where Google Pay is accepted.

At the moment, Google Pay only supports Axis debit/credit cards and SBI credit cards issued by Visa in India. With the roll-out of NFC-based contactless payment, more bank and issuers may be added so as to expand the reach.

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OnePlus demonstrated the importance of the Indian market with the launch of the OnePlus 7T and the al new OnePlus TV Q1 and Q1 Pro. During the event, the Chinese company also went official with the newest addition to its custom OxygenOS and it is called OnePlus Pay. Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, Apple are presently among the OEMs in the smartphone sector which have got their own payment platform. Xiaomi Pay is yet to roll out in other regions aside China. Google continues to expand its own Google Pay platform, stretching from the US to Europe. Samsung Pay perhaps has the widest coverage with the payment platform already available in several countries in partnership with local financial institutions. OnePlus is looking to leverage on the global spread of its smartphone userbase with this new mobile payment platform.

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Details of the OnePus Pay were not revealed. The company only released a teaser announcing the platform should be expected sometime next year. We expect the app to support NFC and that won’t pose any problem to OnePlus phone users, except you own the OnePlus 2 or One. OnePlus models right from the OnePlus 3, all came with NFC onboard. The payment platform may also bring other non-NFC payment options.

In another development, OnePlus also shared Counterpoint Research Q2 2019 report on the premium smartphone segment in India. The data shows OnePlus controls 43% of the premium segment, ahead of Samsung. The market share is a significant leap from last year’s Q2 market share of 34% which catapulted OnePlus to the top of the segment for the first time ahead of Samsung. With this latest report, OnePlus continues to dominate the segment in India and this could be the reason why the OnePlus 7T was launched in the world’s thrid-largest market first. Also, recall that OnePlus currently ranks among the top 5 OEMs in the premium segment globally.

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LG Pay, the mobile payment and digital wallet solution from LG has been available in South Korea since last year in June. However, LG has now confirmed that the LG Pay service will be heading to the U.S. by June this year.

On Tuesday, LG announced that it will be bringing its mobile payment solution to the U.S. in the first half of the year, Yonhap News reported. The availability of the LG Pay in the U.S. will be timed with the release of its upcoming flagship phone.

LG Pay can be used by placing the NFC-enabled smartphone at a payment terminal. The transaction can be authenticated through fingerprint scanning. Apart from NFC, the Wireless Magnetic Communication (WMC) technology can be used for making payments at regular credit card readers that do not feature NFC radios.

LG is speculated to bring the LG Pay feature as LG Wallet in the U.S. Earlier in this month, the South Korean company had released LG Wallet app in the Google Play Store. The description of the app states that it will work with only with the unannounced LG G7 phone.

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It indicates that when LG releases the LG G7 smartphone in the U.S., it will be also introducing the LG Pay/Wallet payment solution in the country. It is also expected to be available on the LG V40 flagship that will be arriving in the latter half of the year. Starting with flagship phones, LG is expected to make the service available on its mid-range smartphones in 2019.

LG is speculated to launch the Snapdragon 845 powered LG G7 flagship phone in March this year. It is expected to arrive with FullVision OLED display with 18:9 aspect ratio, 6 GB of RAM, dual selfie cameras, dual rear cameras and more.

Rivaling services such as the Samsung Pay has been available in 12 devices across 14 countries whereas the Google Pay which includes Android Pay and Google Wallet services are available on NFC-enabled Android devices in 17 countries. LG Pay will not only receive tough competition from Samsung Pay in the home country but also from it and Google Pay in the U.S.

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