Android Pay is not the same as Google Wallet. For a time, the Google company tried persistently to introduce Google Wallet, to enter the mobile payments market, but the truth is that Wallet never reached the popularity that Google tried to achieve.
However, the company decided not to make this platform disappear, so today Wallet continues in circulation, being a method of sending payments similar to PayPal, mainly to use with friends and family.
Since 2015, it has undergone a great transformation regarding mobile payments included in Google Wallet since it has become what we know today as Android Pay.
Since its launch to date, Android Pay has grown in popularity, which is why more and more banking institutions around the world are joining this platform.
However, Android Pay continues to generate many questions among users and potential users, so here we tell you what Android Pay is, what it is for, and how to use it.
What is Android Pay for?
Many wonder what Android Pay is and what it is for, and the truth is that there is great confusion about it, so the first thing we are going to clarify here is that Android Pay is basically a mobile wallet, which allows us to have money from our bank accounts, through our debit credit cards, credit cards, loyalty cards, and others.
In theory, we should be able to pay for any item or service using Android Pay with our Android cell phone, but the truth is that most businesses still do not accept mobile payments, although this is becoming more and more extensive around the world, and there will surely come a time when we will no longer use hard cash.
When all businesses really have a device that allows mobile payments, we just need to bring our phone closer to the store’s device to be able to pay for what we have bought, and for this, our smartphone must simply be unlocked, that is, we do not even need to open an application to process the payment.
One of the great advantages of Android Pay is not only related to the ease it presents to pay for products and services, without the need to use cards and much less cash, but we can also receive special offers and discounts directly on our mobile phone.
To cite an example, one of the things that we can buy using Android Pay is applications in the Google Play Store, just by pressing the “Buy with Android Pay” button, which undoubtedly greatly speeds up the money transaction to acquire an app from the official Google site.
Regarding the banks that have so far joined the Android Pay service, among the best-known card companies we find American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa, with which we can use Android Pay with our credit cards and debit, always depending on the banking institution, so we should find out in our bank if it is possible to use this Google service.
We also have to bear in mind that not all Android devices are compatible with Android Pay, since not all platforms support this platform. In this sense, we must clarify that Android Pay works with all NFC-enabled Android devices, which have the KitKat version 4.4 or higher of the operating system, and can be used in an Android Wear smartwatch with an NFC chip. On the other side of the counter, it is only necessary for the store to have a payment terminal.
It is also important to note that to use Android Pay, it is not necessary to have a fingerprint reader, since all Android devices have a fingerprint scanner. Android Pay also accepts a PIN code, a password, or a pattern to authenticate the transactions that are carried out.