Fitbit Pay is (finally) going away, and those who have gotten used to this payment service will have to adjust very, very soon. The company just announced that several of its devices will be transitioning to Google Wallet for contactless payments from this point onward. The change is set to take effect on Jul 29th.
Transition Process
The official corporate explanation details that the switch is expected to increase the number of banks and cards available for contactless payments on compatible Fitbit devices. In reality, though, this decision was already more than four years in the making. The transition from Fitbit Pay to Google Wallet was already part of the ongoing gradual process of integrating Google's services into the Fitbit ecosystem, which so far seems to mostly strip features away from the devices.
As mentioned earlier, this won't be an instant rollout. Those who currently have cards linked to their Fitbit Pay accounts will be able to continue using them until the update launches. However, as of today, new cards can no longer be added. If you have a card that is supported by Fitbit Pay but not by Google Wallet, it is recommended that you prepare your Google Wallet cards ahead of time to make a clean switch.
Finalizing the Switch
When the update rolls out this July, the Fitbit app must be updated to version 4.14.1 or higher. Then, you can navigate to the device settings within the app and follow the prompts to update to Google Wallet. Keep in mind that existing cards will not be automatically migrated from Fitbit Pay to Google Wallet. The manual process is mandatory for the new platform.
Here are the following are the Fitbit devices that will make the switch:
- Fitbit Charge 4
- Fitbit Charge 5
- Fitbit Charge 6
- Fitbit Sense
- Fitbit Sense 2
- Fitbit Versa 2
- Fitbit Versa 3
- Fitbit Versa 4
For certain editions of Fitbit Charge 3 and Fitbit Versa with an NFC chip, you can try looking for a “Fitbit Pay” menu in the text surrounding the heart rate sensor on the back of the device. Or, you can also try to remove the bottom band and look for “Fitbit Pay” printed on the end of the tracker.
Fitbit device owners in Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Taiwan will be able to continue using Fitbit Pay beyond the July 29th deadline. Oh and, Fitbit devices without an NFC chip that don't support Fitbit Pay in the first place are also unaffected.
Continued Integration
In the past year, Google has also introduced Google account login support for Fitbit, with plans to fully transition all Fitbit accounts to Google by 2025. So the switch from Fitbit Pay to Google Wallet may not have been surprising for users given all the integration efforts that have been done so far.
In any case, Fitbit users are still encouraged to stay informed about the transition and take the necessary steps to ensure a smooth switch to Google Wallet this coming July 29th. You can visit Google's dedicated support page about the transition for more info.
