Google’s Android Pay is set to arrive in the United Kingdom in the succeeding months.
The company is launching its mobile payment service in the United Kingdom six months after it was initially rolled out in the United States.
"Android users in the UK are already enjoying many great features of Android from Google Photos to Google Play, and in the next few months, Android smartphones will become even more useful with the launch of Android Pay," Google says in a blog post. "We're bringing together payment networking banks and retailers to help you pay simply and securely."
Google’s payment service is going to support Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards. The Mountain View-based company’s key banking partners in the United Kingdom include First Direct, Bank of Scotland, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, HDBC, MBNA, M&S Bank and Nationwide Building Society. It says, though, that new banks are being added on its list “all the time.”
With Android Pay’s existence in the U.K., users will soon be able to purchase using Android Pay anywhere in the region where contactless payments are accepted. The list of merchants accepting this payment method consist of Costa Coffee, Boots, Starbucks, KFC, Waitrose and more. One will soon likewise be able to use the mobile payment service with Transport for London (TfL).
Of course, consumers can also take advantage of Android Pay while shopping within an app, such as JD Sports, YPlan, Deliveroo, Kickstarter, Zara and more. This makes paying for your items swifter, as users will no longer need to key in their address and payment details every now and then.
The company says Android Pay is on the rise. In fact, it receives 1.5 million new registrations per month. More retailers and apps have also joined forces with Google to make it easier for consumers to buy products by simply tapping to pay at a wide array of physical stores.
Not so long ago, a report surfaced claiming that Google is believed to launch Android Pay in the U.K. However, the report says that Google will unveil it later in the month. Do note that Google says in its recent blog post that it has yet to launch the mobile payment service “in the next few months.”
"Google's rival to Apple Pay will make its British debut at the end of March, as the Web giant attempts to muscle into the emerging mobile payments industry," said the report of the Telegraph, citing its industry sources.
At the moment, Apple Pay is the only available mobile payment service in the region.
