Google announces Android Pay, its replacement for Google Wallet

One of the big things we've expected to hear about at Google I/O 2015 has been Android Pay, Google's replacement for Google Wallet, that will provide a more robust competitor to Apple Pay. As you would hope, Android Pay will enable you to pay for goods and services in shops with your Android smartphone.

Android Pay is supported by Visa, Mastercard and American Express as you can see in the image above. When you are in the process of buying something on your Android device, instead of typing in every single payment detail, you will be able to just select ‘Buy with Android Pay‘ to complete the checkout. Google says that this will make the checkout process as quick as a tap.

You will also be able to use Android Pay at 700,000 of your favourite store locations, some of which can be seen in the image below. Android Pay will also soon be able to be used in over 1000 apps.

Google has partnered with the following payment processors: Braintree, CyberSource, First Data, Stripe, Vantiv among others to further enhance integration of Android Pay. For security purposes, Google is committed to delivering industry standard security tokenization in conjunction with MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. Your credit or debit card number stays safe on the phone, instead, a virtual account number is used to represent your Android pay account.

Google is also negotiating with banks to get Android Pay integrated with their own banking apps, making it easier to add your credit and debit cards for use with Android Pay.

Finally, if your device is stolen, and you are worried about the thief making use of your Android Pay account, all you have to do is access the Android Device Manager to lock your device from anywhere in the world, and if necessary, you can also wipe the device to make sure your money is safe.

Remember you can follow the rest of our Google I/O 2015 coverage right here. There's lots more to come!

Source: Google