Google announced earlier today that using Android Pay, Google’s digital wallet platform (which was limited to mobile transactions till now) – users can now make in-app purchases. Apps such as Lyft, OpenTable, and Hotel Tonight are the few that will allow in-app purchases through Android Pay soon after the launch. Other apps are projected to follow suit as the feature becomes integrated into their system in few months, says Google.
Users making in-app purchases through Android Pay will also get a limited deal from the partner apps. This strategy is of course to entice other users to try the feature out. Google has assured the users that Android Pay is as secure as NFC payments.
Apple Pay is still going strong on popularity among general users. But Google’s answer to Apple, has scored big in Australia as it begins to spread its international presence. Android Pay is stipulated to launch in the island continent in the beginning of 2016. Even months before its debut in the region it has side-lined Apple Pay by striking a partnership with major banks in Australia. Banks such as ANZ, Westpac and its subsidiaries the Bank of Melbourne, Bank of South Australia and St George, along with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, ING Direct, Macquarie Bank and Cuscal have favoured Android Pay over Apple’s payment service. The banks will accept payments through Visa, MasterCard and eftpos on Android Pay.
Apple is not ready to give up the share of the market so easily. It has partnered with American Express in Australia, Canada, Singapore and Spain to hold a slight market edge over Android Pay.
Even though Westpac has its own payment service on the digital platform, it has expressed interest to use Android Pay to offer secure transactions with multiple credentials.
In Australia. Android OS is statistically much favoured than Apple iOS. In the Q3, 2015 sales of Android devices was registered at 54.9 per cent, whereas for Apple devices it was only 37.9 per cent.
For Android Pay’s in-app purchase feature to work, the apps have to first integrate the service into their system. After that users can make purchases of items with just a tap on the Android Pay button. According to Google over a million locations support Android Pay in the US alone. Some of these include 7-Eleven, McDonald’s and Telstra.
