Google Wallet has gone beyond being a digital wallet as the company has introduced a new debit card to access accounts.
Rumors surrounding a tangible Google Wallet Card have been floating online for sometime now, which hinted that the search giant would soon provide users with a debit or credit card to access their Google Wallet balance. The card could also be used for buying products.
Now the MasterCard-branded debit card from Google for the Google Wallet is available and users have the option of ordering one. The debit card can be used to withdraw cash at ATMs and is swipeable at stores, per Google.
"The Google Wallet Card is a physical prepaid debit card that allows you to access your Wallet Balance in the real world, at ATMs, banks, and wherever MasterCard® Debit is accepted," notes the Google Wallet Card description.
Users can now pay for goods and services offline without waiting for their money to transfer from the Google Wallet to their bank account. This is something similar to what PayPal offers users in some countries.
So what benefits can users avail from the Google Wallet Card? We take a look below at what Google has to say:
- Spend anywhere: Use your Wallet Balance to shop and pay in stores by swiping your card at millions of MasterCard locations.
- Get cash at ATMs: Withdraw money from your Wallet Balance at ATMs. Some ATM providers may charge you a fee for cash withdrawals.
- Receive instant notifications when you spend money: Get instant notifications right on your phone to help you keep tabs on all of your transactions.
- Be free of annual or monthly fees: You can order the Google Wallet Card for free, and there are no annual or monthly service fees to use the card.
The Google Wallet Card is available for free inside the latest version of the Google Wallet app for Android (rolling out this week), alternately one can order their Google Wallet Card here.
Once the Google Wallet Card has been ordered, it should arrive in 10-12 days. However, it is only available for use in the U.S. as of now.
