Google Wallet arrives in South Africa – first African market to receive this service.
- Google Wallet, a service that allows Android users to make contactless payments and hold digital passes on their phones, was formally launched in South Africa.
- To avoid fraud, users must set up an authorisation check in the form of a fingerprint, face, or pin before making a payment.
- Google Wallet is presently available through six banks: FirstRand, Absa, Nedbank, Standard Bank, Discovery Bank, and Investec.
- Four foreign airlines that fly regularly to and from South Africa have also joined Google Wallet in its launch.
Google Wallet, the latest technological wallet for Android devices that supports contactless payments and can hold a variety of other credentials, has been formally introduced in South Africa. Throughout the last few years, Google’s digital wallet platform has seen several modifications and brand identities, with the most recent version of the payment-processing software introduced in May.
The updated and enhanced Google Wallet is connected with Google Pay, which much like Apple pay for IOS, allows for touchless transactions both digitally and in person. Banking cards are registered to Google Wallet of the account holder, which may subsequently be used to tap/hover to pay wherever Google Pay is permitted or with NFC-enabled equipment.
Dong Min Kim, Google Wallet product manager, said at the product release:
“The goal is to provide fast and secure access to all of your everyday essentials, It is actually better and safer than carrying around your physical card with you.”
He further went on to say:
“In the future, at some point, you can hopefully leave your home, and you’ll be able to take all the things you had with you, that you would carry around in your pocket, keys, IDs, things like that, and store it all on your phone and access it seamlessly on the Android device.”
Google Wallet produces a payment identifier that must be approved by a fingerprint, face, or pin, keeping to the emphasis out on consumer privacy and fraud mitigation.
In addition to saving and utilising payment cards, Google Wallet users may protect digital passes such as loyalty cards, event tickets, and boarding passes. Google Wallet launched in South Africa with six banks: FirstRand, Absa, Nedbank, Standard Bank, Discovery Bank, and Investec.
Google Wallet also collaborated alongside foreign airlines that fly to and from South Africa: United, KLM, Air France, and Singapore Airlines. This collaboration enables digital boarding cards and tickets to be saved in Google Wallet and accepted by airlines.
Google Wallet is now available in South Africa, the product’s first African market, to enable users to save and simply and securely access their credit cards, loyalty cards, and boarding tickets. Given its accessibility and further opportunity the list of commodities that may be included to the wallet is likely to expand in the future as Google presses forward with ambitions to replace physical wallets and meet the need for fast digitization.
