Google’s Android Pay now available at over 1m locations in the US
Google’s bid to dethrone Apple in the competitive tap-to-pay market has stepped up a gear with the mobile payments service now available at over 1m locations in the US; including macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Subway.
The key milestone hands Android Pay crucial scale in the sector, vital to convince consumers to ditch their plastic for their smartphones in a market estimated to be worth $1tn by 2017.
Utilising Near Field Communication (NFC) technology the system allows users of Google’s KitKat 4.4+ operating system to store credit card details on their phones through Google Wallet and will be extended to mobile checkouts in some apps later this year.
In an effort to minimise the risk of fraud credit card data is not divulged directly to the retailer during a transaction with recipients handed a ‘token’ from Google instead.
Google has not yet set a date for rolling out the system globally.