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Google's Android Pay Mobile Payments Service Arrives In US

Posted by samzenpus on from the easy-pay dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Google is rolling out its digital payment system Android Pay in the U.S. today. The new system will allow users to make payments in stores using their phone. Existing users of the Google Wallet app can access Android Pay through an update. According to the blog post: "Android Pay works with all NFC-enabled Android devices (running KitKat 4.4+), on any mobile carrier, at every tap and pay ready location across the US. Android Pay will support credit and debit cards from the four major payment networks: American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa. These cards are issued by many of the most popular US banks and credit unions, including American Express, Bank of America, Discover, Navy Federal Credit Union, PNC, Regions Bank, USAA, and U.S. Bank. Wells Fargo will be available in the next few days, Capital One and Citi are coming soon, and we're adding new banks all the time."

101 comments

  1. So how is this different by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 4, Informative

    This sounds like Google Wallet, with a different name. Same technology.

    What is new?

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    1. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The new name makes it possible for Google to support only the Android platform without appearing anti-competitive.

    2. Re:So how is this different by DogDude · · Score: 1

      What is new?

      It's a new piece of software, a new income to deal with in accounting, a new security vector, a new expense, and all in all, a new headache that will bring merchants little to no added value. It's going to die just like all of the new payment methods that have come out recently and are due to come out so

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    3. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its more secure, setup about the same as Apple Pay with tokens and so fourth. Just another copy.....yawn and move along!

    4. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like apple pay, you can use this to put in a credit card instead of a bank account. That is a HUGE win for consumers. I won't use google wallet because if it gets hacked by other NFC tech, my bank gets drained. Using this with my credit card stored in there and it gets hacked means that VISA eats the losses.

      Of course, I could be reading this all wrong.

    5. Re:So how is this different by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 1

      You're reading it wrong. You don't understand how Google Wallet works at all.

    6. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Google Wallet is being split into this for tap-and-pay and a new version which only handles sending/receiving cash via email.

    7. Re:So how is this different by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      Didn't Google Pay require carrier's blessing? I seem to remember TMobile not allowing Google Pay to be installed/function on my Galaxy S4 and instead wanted Isis Mobile Wallet (later renamed Softcard) to be the mobile payment method so that the mobile carriers would retain/resell the marketing data from the transaction and not Google. I had to install a unofficial ROM after rooting to get Google Pay to install and work.

      In the end it wasn't worth it. It was faster to run my credit card than pull out phone, enter pin, bring up Pay, try to get it and the terminal to sync, eventually having it go through, then have to talk to the cashier because it really didn't, give up and swipe card like I should have done in the first place. Now a days I can't say I recall any places that have tap to pay terminals. A few have Apple-supported terminals, but the ones that had Google-compatible ones replaced them when they got EMV-compatible ones.

    8. Re:So how is this different by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      Except as far as the merchant is concerned, it is no different than a regular NFC card transaction, so no new headaches, no new expenses, no security worries for anyone except Visa/Mastercard/etc. Their current contactless terminals will work with out changes.

    9. Re:So how is this different by viperidaenz · · Score: 3, Informative

      USA will catch up some day, the rest of the world has a crap-load of contactless terminals. I bought my lunch using one half an hour ago.

    10. Re:So how is this different by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      It's a new piece of software, a new income to deal with in accounting, a new security vector, a new expense, and all in all, a new headache that will bring merchants little to no added value. It's going to die just like all of the new payment methods that have come out recently and are due to come out so

      Not to mention that I'd as soon sweep tiger cages for a living as do financial transactions through Google.

    11. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, because we all know Apple would approve the Android Pay app on iOS.

    12. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are a human piece of shit.

    13. Re: So how is this different by __aajwxe560 · · Score: 1

      From what can see, former Google Wallet tried to pretend to be a digital version of your physical wallet, holding your credit card details. This new version instead functions as a payment service gateway and injects a unique account # instead to the requestor, hiding your actual account details (instead, using the actual android pay account). I'd actually prefer this myself, sharing my real cc details with less folks.

    14. Re: So how is this different by thsths · · Score: 0

      No, Google Wallet was a payment service just like Paypal, but not as good.

      Of course Google has a tendency to join an already established market with inferiors products. They tend to linger for years before they are finally retired. Google is just not a fast follower.

      The problem with Android pay is that I have a phone (my previous one) with NFC which is stuck on Android 4.0. My current phone has Android 5.0, but no NFC. Why can't they just use a bar code instead?

    15. Re: So how is this different by dwillden · · Score: 1

      You have no idea what you are talking about. Google wallet has been the leader in this payment system. It does function as described above, all payments are actually made with the Google MasterCard account (who gets those points?). It is highly secure, far better than paypal, and it works and has worked well for years now. With versions of Android before 4 there were problems at times but from original KitKat on it has worked quite well.

      And is available on Android 5 and higher. I used it just the other day to pay for my groceries with my device which is running Lolipop. (Android 5).

      --
      I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
    16. Re:So how is this different by oakgrove · · Score: 2

      Didn't Google Pay require carrier's blessing?

      According to the blog post cited in the summary above, this works on all carriers.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    17. Re:So how is this different by evilRhino · · Score: 1

      On the merchant side, it is compatible with existing Tap and pay point of sales. As far as the vendor is concerned, it is no different than any other credit card transaction. They are already quite popular in Europe.

    18. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's what I want to know. I'm guessing this is yet another change simply for change sake. Google...er...I'm mean Alphabet is notorious for pulling this kind of BS.

    19. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would pay to see you have your limbs and genitalia surgically amputated, your eyes and eardrums surgical extracted and your vocal chords surgically removed. That way you can live out the rest of your worthless life as nothing but a torso with a head that is completely unable to interact with anything.

    20. Re:So how is this different by Ayanami_R · · Score: 1

      I think the net neutrality rules prohibit carriers to block this, as it's a legal service.

      --
      "Science is the power of man"
    21. Re:So how is this different by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Apple Pay was a copy of Google Wallet. Now you are claiming that Google is copying Apple Pay by putting out an updated Google Wallet? Your logic makes my head hurt.

      When Apple Pay came out, CVS stopped accepting Google Wallet transactions, and enabled Apple Pay, which always bothered me, as both are NFC, so it was only a power play.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    22. Re:So how is this different by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps you should read up on how NFC payment works. The card number never traverses the RF, only a random token which is a one off for every transaction.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    23. Re:So how is this different by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      This sounds like Google Wallet, with a different name. Same technology.

      Completely opposite, actually.

      Google Pay works like Apple Pay - i.e., it's an implementation of EMV.

      Google Wallet works with Bank of America. What happens in this case is when you set up Google Wallet, BoA creates a debit card in your name for your account. Whenever you use Google Wallet, the debit account details are sent to the merchant, who tries to debit the account. Since the account has no money, BoA forwards a money request to Google, who then funds the account from the various payment methods you have (Google charges you for the money, that money goes to BoA to fund the debit account which then goes to the merchant). With this method, any payment system works - as long as Google can charge it, it can be used. Not all merchants support it though.

      Using EMV means all merchants who support EMV can accept Google/Apple Pay. However, to do it requires support of the bank to have the infrastructure necessary to create on-demand tokens, which is why it doesn't support all banks.

      In addition, Google Wallet incurs double interchange fees - first from the debit charge, then from your payment mechanism charge. In the beginning, Google was absorbing the payment card charge (since the merchant was absorbing the debit charge as per a normal debit transaction).

      Google Pay is like Apple Pay - just a regular electronic credit card, so only one fee is charged. And this method also ensures the transaction details stay private since Google is no longer involved in the transaction.

      Basically, Apple Pay forced banks to support EMV, which means Google Pay was actually possible. And Apple Pay works because of the October mandate for more secure payment cards, forcing merchants to abandon swipe readers for ones that support Chip+PIN and which often come with NFC readers installed as well.

    24. Re:So how is this different by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      Thank you. That makes sense. Nothing new is really happening on the terminal end. The phone, NFC and terminal are doing what they've always done. The changes are at the other end with the payment processing.

      We have a new payment terminal with all the interfaces (swipe, C&P, C&S, NFC) but the latter three often don't work because the customer's bank can't handle it, even though they issued the card with the chip.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    25. Re:So how is this different by Nexus7 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, you could use your credit card through Google Wallet. I wonder if it now creates a one-time credit card for each transaction?

    26. Re:So how is this different by Krojack · · Score: 1

      Google Wallet is a stand alone app thus you had to first open it to make a tap payment. This is more or less built in and just tap your phone and it pays.

      I'm assuming there will also be more flexible options at some point like an API that apps can use to access and use the Android Pay, if there isn't already one.

    27. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mag stripe is so much worse. One only needs to record the track data with a microphone and then play it back to any card reader.

    28. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've yet to encounter a merchant with a chip+pin or NFC terminal where the EMV card didn't work. I have however encountered many US merchants who don't know how to use their chip+pin/NFC reader, and US customers who don't know their PIN because the rest of the world is Chip+PIN.

      The only place Mag Stripes are still being used for the time being are ATM machines because otherwise there is no way to access US banking systems outside of the US. Stores won't let you use the mag-stripe unless their POS systems don't work with it (eg Chipolte only has mag-stripe readers.)

    29. Re:So how is this different by psyclone · · Score: 1

      Thanks, this is the most informative comment in the thread.

    30. Re:So how is this different by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      I'm in the US and we have a store (my wife runs it) downstairs.

      It's common for customers to have magstripe-only cards.
      It's common for customers to have chip&pin cards and chip&signature cards issued from US banks, but they swipe the mag stripe anyway.
      Last year It was the majority of the time that trying to use the EMV or NFC interfaces would fail, except with certain banks.
      This year, the failure rate is lower and it works most of the time, but it didn't take many failures to train the cardholders to swipe instead of insert so that's what they still do.
      The banks slowly got their systems in order, they are not all done yet. The credit unions are slower.

      In Europe, chip and pin is universal and it became a big problem for US travelers, who turned to temporary 'travel' credit cards to get by.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    31. Re:So how is this different by sglewis100 · · Score: 1

      When Apple Pay came out, CVS stopped accepting Google Wallet transactions, and enabled Apple Pay, which always bothered me, as both are NFC, so it was only a power play.

      I don't think you have that quite right.

    32. Re: So how is this different by xaxa · · Score: 1

      I've recently moved to Denmark, and am surprised how popular paying "by mobile" (by online banking, using a mobile app) is. And that is a new, incompatible method.

      Places like hot dog stands accept it, or a bar for a $3 drink.

    33. Re:So how is this different by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      I meant to say that the old Google Wallet service/app required the carrier's blessing in some cases. I mixed up my names. And yes, the cited post the "new" service is suppose to work regardless of carrier, the way it should be.

    34. Re:So how is this different by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      It's not that we don't want contactless terminals, it's that EVERYONE wants a cut of the action and wants to cut out the competition. Google wants people to use their service using Android phones. Apple wants people to use Apple Pay with iPhones. Samsung wants people to use Samsung Pay. Carriers want you to use ISIS/Softcard and not any of those. Merchants don't want you to use any of them because they have their own service, CurrentC, that can do nothing but never actually launch.

    35. Re:So how is this different by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      Except as far as the merchant is concerned, it is no different than a regular NFC card transaction, so no new headaches, no new expenses, no security worries for anyone except Visa/Mastercard/etc. Their current contactless terminals will work with out changes.

      I'm a merchant. Our payment terminal has a big sticker on the bottom saying "Triple DES" like that's a good thing.
      64 bit block sizes! The 1970s called and they want their bad crypto back.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    36. Re:So how is this different by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      Not to mention that I'd as soon sweep tiger cages for a living as do financial transactions through Google.

      Why? Do you think it would be worse than paying by presenting the plaintext credentials on a magstripe card through a terminal that uses ancient crypto to communicate the transaction over the open internet?
       

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    37. Re:So how is this different by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      The carriers weren't preventing the application data access, nor were they preventing it from being installed. They ordered Google to block the app from installing based on the devices build properties for "security reasons" since it had to use the secure element for storing card info.

      More info here.

    38. Re:So how is this different by thisisauniqueid · · Score: 1

      Google Wallet still exists (for P2P payments), but it was split out from Android Pay so that Google could strike up these agreements with the payment networks. Without removing P2P payments, none of the big banks or credit card networks would make it easy for Google to do NFC payments, because they are all building P2P payment networks of their own.

    39. Re:So how is this different by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would pay to have you and your family put through a tree chipper. You would be last of course, but before that I would take a spoon and gouge out your eyes and then take a chainsaw to cut your limbs off. The chunks of worthless human shit would then be fed to pigs to fatten them up.

    40. Re:So how is this different by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

      Mag stripe is so much worse. One only needs to record the track data with a microphone and then play it back to any card reader.

      Nonsense. Magstripe is exploitable, but not at a distance as NFC has proved to be.

      Apples and oranges. Mail-order oranges.

    41. Re:So how is this different by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      Carriers want you to use Softcard. Sorry doesn't exist anymore?
      Google acquired them back in Feb, so carriers want you to use Android Pay now.

    42. Re:So how is this different by cdrudge · · Score: 1

      I'm not talking about the situation now. I was talking about the situation then, before Google grabbed SoftCard, back before Softcard wasn't Softcard, it was still Isis, and it was still a joint venture between Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

  2. annoyances at the checkout counter by Dorianny · · Score: 4, Funny

    Starting with long lines and ending with rude, overworked, less-then-knowledgeable cashiers the payment method whether cash, plastic or nfc is the least of the annoyances.

  3. no support for the big two? by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 2

    mastercharge and bank americard?

    how did they miss the big two?

    how odd!

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    1. Re:no support for the big two? by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 3, Funny

      Screw that, I'm still trying to find some place to use my Diner's Card!

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    2. Re: no support for the big two? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They are the big two? I've heard of neither.

  4. Go Google! by Maury+Markowitz · · Score: 3, Funny

    > The new system will allow users to make payments in stores using their phone

    They just keep hitting it out of the park!

    1. Re:Go Google! by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1, Insightful

      HOW many android handsets are technically unsecure? most? more than half? at least half won't ever get critical updates.

      but google CARES about you! yes sir, yes they do.

      I'd certainly co-mingle my money and the google goliath. yup. what would possibly go wrong?

      seriously - I'm gobsmacked by how trusting people are when new risky technology 'solutions' come out. its like they can't WAIT to get raped and fucked over by some security bug or hacker break-in.

      and no, I would not trust apple, either, with my money or wallet. sounds pretty stupid. we already have payment methods that mostly work and have mostly been secured. even after decades, they are still not super secure, but at least they're understood and very standardized.

      unless there's a compelling reason to trust a google or an apple with my money, WHY EVEN DO IT AT ALL?

      I guess I just don't understand the lure of newfangled and UNTRUSTED things. things with no serious history and from companies that could give two shits about their userbase, truth be told.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    2. Re:Go Google! by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 1

      Just to be clear... our current payment systems are incredibly insecure right now. That being said, I completely agree that I'm going to let others who like to jump on these new fads to be the ones to beta-test things and find out how insecure things really are over the next few years before I sign up. They can put their own finances and credit scores on the line, and I'll just wait until all the bugs and security issues are worked out.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    3. Re:Go Google! by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      This feature has been around for over a decade in Japan. I've been keeping tabs on how long it takes for Japanese technologies to reach the west. It varies, but on average I'd say about 10 years. For some things like broadband internet access it's longer, for other things (like 3D city models in sat nav) it's a bit less. But on average I'd say 10 years.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    4. Re:Go Google! by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      Just to be clear... our current payment systems are incredibly insecure right now.

      Yep! This is why I still stick to the trusty old barter system. And if you're listening, Timothy, I've got two sacks of potatoes for some mod points!

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    5. Re:Go Google! by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      So, what techno wizardry are they sporting in Japan right now that I can look forward to in 2025?

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    6. Re:Go Google! by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Really high speed rail. Washlet toilets (we are like 25 years behind on that). Japanese lighting is so far ahead of western lighting it's not even funny. Small but spacious cars. Oh, and ever OTA TV channel has been HD for years, and they are planning to start 8k (not 4k, 8k) broadcasts in 2020 for the Olympics.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    7. Re:Go Google! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nobody really cares. Proof: There aren't throngs of Americans trying to move to Japan. You like your country... good for you.

  5. excuse me, may i use your phone? by turkeydance · · Score: 2

    and your entire existence?

    1. Re:excuse me, may i use your phone? by linuxguy · · Score: 2

      Is your entire existence in your phone? Or are you being ridiculous?

    2. Re:excuse me, may i use your phone? by Tenebrousedge · · Score: 1

      My phone has a guest account. Also the payment applications have distinct passwords. That said, the only time in the last decade someone asked to use my phone, and I let them, it was apparently to try to score some xanax. Lesson learned: you may not borrow my phone. Homeless people have cell phones these days, if you don't have one (for some bizarre reason) ask one of them. I'll consider exceptions to this rule if I know where you sleep.

      --
      Those who advocate genocide deserve every protection afforded by law, and none afforded by common human decency.
  6. RIP Apple Pay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is going to be good product!

  7. Has this ever happened to you? by linuxguy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There have been a couple of times when I left home without my wallet and went to the store and realized, oh crap, no wallet. But I had my phone on me. For those times, it certainly would be convenient to have the ability to pay with my phone.

    Oh and another big one. Receipts. Freaking lots of them. I would much rather have all that in a neat list inside my phone that I can pull and review. Between multiple credit cards, cash and checks etc, I would not be able to figure out how much money I spent last week or last month. But with completely electronic payments, things get a lot more manageable.

    This service is obviously not for the paranoid who think that Google and Feds already have too much of their information. They probably should stick to paper money.

    1. Re:Has this ever happened to you? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Are you trying to budget, or retain the receipts. Cause I would love to get computer readable receipts.

      Not that I would love it enough to let Google have all that information. The Feds are fine. Google is a for-profit corporation that pretty much only makes money selling my information (although I suppose it makes a ton off the app store as well).

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    2. Re:Has this ever happened to you? by Tokolosh · · Score: 1

      To channel Linus, only wimps keep receipts, pay with bitcoin and let the blockchain mirror them.

      --
      Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
    3. Re:Has this ever happened to you? by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 0

      just imagine you get stopped by a cop and he ruffles thru your phone.

      would you feel ok with him grabbing (copying!) any and all data (including receipts) on your phone?

      you 'phone guys' are WAY TOO TRUSTING of your own phones. fine for you, I guess, but you could not (literally) pay me to engage google any more than I'm already forced to (by virtue of it being a losing battle to even block google domains from simple browsing; and I know, I keep trying and its an uphill battle).

      yeah yeah, I did nothing wrong, no problem for mr. policeman to go thru my store receipts.

      what's that you say? there was a 'suspicious character' seen at the 7-11 an hour ago and you have a receipt from the 7-11 in your 'e-wallet' ? please explain yourself citizen! maybe you should come down to the station and clear this up. won't only take 2 or 4 hours. you're not busy right now, are you?

      imagine. just imagine the widespread abuse. I only listed one case where you should think twice about carrying your fucking whole life's records in your fucking phone. we could all think of many more situations where data can AND WILL be used against you.

      but go ahead. provide the man with lots of data on you, just for the scooping. afterall, if you have done nothing wrong .....

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    4. Re:Has this ever happened to you? by umghhh · · Score: 1

      I do not think that can save you from them. After all if there are only few refuseniks like you then it should be rather easy to find and trace them. OC that makes it more difficult but it is then still possible to trace you by virtue of some aspects of you being invisible whiling your warm body still being where you are.
      So what can be done besides bitching here about this?

    5. Re:Has this ever happened to you? by oakgrove · · Score: 1

      It's right and well that you've been modded down. First of all, the obvious. Encrypt and lock the phone. You were doing that in case of loss or theft anyway, right? Secondly, there was just recently a high profile supreme court case where it was found unconstitutional for cops to stop you and just start going through your phone so I wish they would do that. I'd subsequently beat the case with a public pretender.

      --
      The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
    6. Re:Has this ever happened to you? by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      you have not been hearing or reading about the devices cops have to entirely go around any 'phone locks' you THINK you have?

      phone locks are cute but the black hats that work for the man have done their work and have it all figured out. any mainstream phone has an unlock protocol that the man can call up simply by connecting a usb device.

      yeah, they have those. and yeah, you'd stupid to trust some vendor who has no choice but to give in to L.E. on such things.

      your phone is NOT safe during a traffic stop. laws are still not going to save your ass if a rogue cop (ie, most of them) wants to go on a fishing exp. on your digital life.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  8. Re:Who cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OK. Are you active or passive?

  9. Cash, thanks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I carry cash - I know how much money I have at any given time, my purchases aren't subject to a hidden 3% tax, nobody can track me, and there's no chance for fraud.

    Suck it, hipsters.

    1. Re:Cash, thanks. by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 1

      Really? Everywhere you pay with cash, they give you a 3% discount? That's amazing!

    2. Re:Cash, thanks. by turkeydance · · Score: 1

      well, not really amazing, but it this 3% cash discount is a real-deal thing. i got 3% off gasoline since 2007.

    3. Re:Cash, thanks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, you didn't save any money, you just gave the store 2% profit. But at least you're aren't tracked in the age of the intertrack.

    4. Re:Cash, thanks. by b0bby · · Score: 2

      I get 2% back on gas on my credit card, and at least 1% everywhere else. Other than gas stations, you're paying the card fee either way, so I figure why not use a card?

    5. Re:Cash, thanks. by psyclone · · Score: 1

      But the merchants eat it. If you use a debit card for a $100 purchase they eat 2-3%. If you use a credit card for the same purchase, they might eat 3-4% and if you use a "rewards" credit card, the merchant must eat 4-6% of the transaction. Maybe their retail markup was only %12 on that $100 item, and now instead of making $12, they only made $6 because you got "rewards".

      The big box stores can negotiate lower rates, so use your rewards card there, or at a merchant you don't care about, but if you can, pay with cash (or at most, debit) at the mom & pop stores.

    6. Re: Cash, thanks. by xaxa · · Score: 1

      Debit cards use a fixed fee, usually a few cents, up to 50c for a very small retailer.

  10. What tech does it use? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bluetooth? RFID? The website says you only need to wake up your phone and tap the pay icon, but does not say if you have to turn on one of the RF services. How do I find out if my phone has an RFID chip if that's what it uses?

    1. Re:What tech does it use? by danbob999 · · Score: 1

      check if you see NFC in the specs.

    2. Re:What tech does it use? by umghhh · · Score: 1

      I think you worry too much. I am sure your money will be transferred somewhere. Transfer may take place to another destination and with another amount than intended tho. Just make sure your account is covered if you dislike overdraft surcharges and additional fees.

    3. Re:What tech does it use? by dwillden · · Score: 1

      NFC, if your device is an android that entered the market after the Galaxy S2 it most likely has it. NFC is a short range RFID system. Your phone actually can read and write to RFID chips rather than having a chip it is a reader.

      You can also get NFC/RFID tags that you can then code with instructions for your device. I have one in my vehicle next to my car mount which puts the screen and sound on bright and turns off the wifi. And another on my end table (where it usually sits when I'm at home) that turns on the wifi. Those are just two of the tags I have set-up.

      --
      I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
  11. No it isn't... by brunes69 · · Score: 1

    The app is still unavailable as of 9:00 PM EST, and in fact I actually got an email from Google saying it is NOT rolling out today.

    1. Re:No it isn't... by amRadioHed · · Score: 1

      It is rolling out. It's just Google's typical and annoying incremental rollout, so you may not be selected to receive the app for a few days.

      --
      We hope your rules and wisdom choke you / Now we are one in everlasting peace
    2. Re:No it isn't... by brunes69 · · Score: 1

      That isn't how Google Play works. You can't get the app until it is posted. The app does not exist in Google Play.

  12. Participating Banks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The issuing bank for the card I have added to my Google Wallet account isn't in the list accompanying this announcement. Will it no longer work after the upgrade? Apple Pay only works with cards from certain banks because they force the bank into an agreement that gives them a kickback. Has Google done the same?

    1. Re:Participating Banks by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Apple Pay only works with cards from certain banks because they force the bank into an agreement

      How does Apple force any bank into anything?

      They don't have the power of arrest, nor sanctions, nor anything else for that matter.

      Haters gotta hate.

  13. Rewards by heezer7 · · Score: 2

    My issue with Wallet before was credit card rewards. Everything came across as a generic category so say my Amex higher % cash back at grocery stores didn't register properly. Hopefully that is corrected now that the banks are in on it. If so I'll be all over it.

    1. Re:Rewards by heezer7 · · Score: 1

      Looks like they will work now. https://support.google.com/and...

    2. Re:Rewards by technomom · · Score: 1

      They will work on the selected banks that support Android Pay right now. If you were using Google Wallet before with any old Mastercard or Visa (or Amex or whatever) that is not from a supported bank, they will continue to work if you register them to Android Pay. However, your rewards will not work as these are going through a third party bank.

      My guess is that any credit union or bank worth their salt that is currently accepting Apple Pay will likely accept Android Pay as well some time in the near future.

      I know I intend to let my credit union know I expect them to support it.

    3. Re:Rewards by macs4all · · Score: 1

      My guess is that any credit union or bank worth their salt that is currently accepting Apple Pay will likely accept Android Pay as well some time in the near future.

      Mmmm. With the plethora of credential-stealing Apps and exploits like in StageFright on the Android platform, who in their right mind would use this?

      And before you start the Apple Hate Machine, please point to ONE actual, non-theoretical exploit involving an individual and ApplePay.

  14. Android Pay... but why? Bye Google. by A+non+moose+cow · · Score: 2

    They are splitting the current Google Wallet app into two different apps; Android Pay, and the New Google Wallet. Google's blurb on this states that they are splitting it into "two simpler apps", which, while correct for the individual apps, actually makes using the functionality more complicated, because you have to remember which app can do which kinds of transactions. They also have a FAQ that answers all of the questions that their pow-wow thought might be frequently asked (Lets not kid ourselves, we all know that these lists are actually MBFAQs), but they did not include the one I wanted to ask: Why are they doing this?

    I think I might have the answer to this, and it is a universal one from Google. As a frequently frustrated user of many other Google services, having asked dozens of questions about why seemingly nonsensical changes have been made to various services, and never having received a reasonable answer for a single one of them, Google's universal answer to the question "Why?" is simply, "Fuck You. That's why."

    I have been slowly transferring my data off of other Google services for the last 6 months. I used Google Wallet just today before reading about this new idiocy. I'm probably going to miss this phone swipe ability, but I'm not changing to the new app. I am tired of the Google culture of disposability. There have been too many things that they made, and that I enjoyed, and that they then trashed. What they need to realize is that not offering any explanation for things like this makes me as a customer feel trashed. Bye Google. You finally broke this camel's back.

  15. Re:Android Pay... but why? Bye Google. by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

    If you think this is more complicated, you're doing it wrong. Android pay is a single purpose app for commercial transactions: loyalty and CC payments made at a POS machine. Wallet will be the paypal-esque app for sending money between private parties using pre-loaded funds (aka cash) that resides in your Google Wallet account. It actually makes more sense this way and, as someone who does not like linking an account with *my* money to an online payment system, much more secure.

    As for dropping the goog, what you do is your business. Google is a business too. They drop/abandon/kill projects which don't make them money and don't appear to have the usage/configuration to make them money in the future. I guarantee it's not arbitrary.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  16. Re:Android Pay... but why? Bye Google. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You guarantee it's not arbitrary. I guess that makes it all okay then. Who the fuck are you again?

  17. Re:Android Pay... but why? Bye Google. by technomom · · Score: 1

    It makes sense if you realize that Google Wallet (New) is just a Paypal-like system, complete with its own physical credit card. Google Wallet can run as a web app, run completely "offline" using the card, or even as an app on iOS (or Blackberry or WinPhone...) if Google releases it there.

    Android Pay is an NFC-based payment system baked into Android. Consider that even if Google wanted to, it is unlikely that Apple would ever allow something like Android Pay in iOS considering it competes directly with Apple Pay.

    Splitting them into two apps allows Google maximum coverage.

  18. Re:Android Pay... but why? Bye Google. by technomom · · Score: 1

    I think he or she is someone who has actually done some research on the subject, unlike someone who would consider this decision to be 'arbitrary'.

  19. Locked phone? by Toshito · · Score: 1

    Do you have to unlock your phone for it to work?

    Because it would take much longer to grab my phone, unlock it and tap it on the terminal than it is to grab my wallet, get my credit card out and tap it on the terminal.

    I work in the payment business and we're doing a lot of projects for mobile payments, but frankly I don't see the point?

    Anyway I currently have a Moto G so no NFC anyway :-)

    --
    Try it! Library of Babel
  20. Re:Android Pay... but why? Bye Google. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didn't realize I said it was arbitrary. My mistake. Oh, wait, I didn't. Your mistake.

  21. Finally! by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    The Stagefright exploits will no longer have to take a check!

  22. Re:Android Pay... but why? Bye Google. by macs4all · · Score: 1

    Android Pay is an NFC-based payment system baked into Android. Consider that even if Google wanted to, it is unlikely that Apple would ever allow something like Android Pay in iOS considering it competes directly with Apple Pay.

    If someone has an iPhone, why in hell would they want/need Android Pay? There is zero advantage, and considering Google's reputation for Data Mining, there is nothing to recommend it to iOS users, period.