Android Pay just rolled out to UK, and Google says that more countries are in tow for the service.
Google first dipped into mobile payments with Google Wallet, back in 2011. Android Pay arrived later, making use of near field communication (NFC) to deliver payment information from an Android phone to a contactless terminal.
Apple set the tone for NFC payments by launching Apple Pay in 2014 and sealed the deal with a number of important banks. In September 2015, Google prent company Alphabet rebranded its service to increase its market share. After a long wait, Android Pay is now finally available in the UK.
Android Pay users from the UK need to have a MasterCard or Visa credit or debit card in order to tap into the service. On its official blog, Google published a list of supported financial institutions that play nice with the service. The list will get updated constantly, but important names on it already include M&S Bank, First Direct, Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Nationwide Building Society and MBNA.
One major player that is off the list is Barclays, which said it is not interested in cooperating with Android for its payment app. The bank already has a proprietary contactless payment app for Android. In it, users can make purchases of maximum £30 ($43) by simply tapping their phones. For payments between £30 ($43) and £100 ($145), a tap and the PIN code of the phone will do.
Android Pay has a neat integration feature with Transport for London. This means that you can get tickets for bus, train and tube fares with Android Pay. The nice touch is that when you choose the subway, Android Pay notifies you if it senses that you are leaving the station without tapping out. This is of great help if you want to avoid getting a ticket or to simply save some cash, as the Tube charges you extra if you forget to tap out.
Google promises that Android Pay will bring additional programs to cater to users' needs. One of them is dubbed Android Pay Day and is set to go live for UK only, at least at first. The program will notify users of the service of new deals during the week before pay day.
"Starbucks UK and Deliveroo will be among the first to reward Android Pay users in the UK," Google notes.
The contactless payment service will head to Singapore and Australia next, as Google wants to expand even further.
