July twenty-two twenty twenty-two. Google Wallet began rolling out to Android users in thirty-nine countries. The app replaces Google Pay in most markets, though the United States and Singapore keep both – Pay handles peer-to-peer transfers there. The rollout started as an update to the existing Google Pay app, according to Google spokesperson Chaiti Sen. Full availability was expected within days.
Notably, this is Google’s third attempt at a digital wallet. The original launched in twenty eleven as an NFC payment app, added peer-to-peer transfers, even had a physical debit card. Then came Android Pay in twenty fifteen. The two merged into Google Pay in twenty eighteen. Now, four years later, Google Pay becomes Google Wallet again – announced at I/O in May, rolling out in July.
The salient point: the new Wallet stores payment cards for Google Pay, plus loyalty cards, digital keys, transit passes, event tickets, health passes, and digital car keys. Car keys function even with the screen dark or the battery drained. Wear OS and Fitbit OS support exists but feature parity remains a work in progress. Thirty-nine countries to start. The US and Singapore run both apps. The rest get Wallet.
It would seem the shake-ups are not over. Google has rebranded its payment stack three times in eleven years. Each iteration promises to make storing digital cards easier. Whether this one sticks remains to be seen. The rollout is underway.
