Android Pay may be on the way sooner than expected
Google may have plans to launch its new mobile payments service, Android Pay, sooner than expected. According to a notice sent to some of Android Pay’s retail partners, such as McDonald’s, employees are being trained to understand what mobile payments are and how to assist customers making such transactions. These notices suggest that Android Pay will actually become available on August 26 or very shortly thereafter, but there is no telling whether or not Google’s new service will find success.
Google has had trouble with mobile payments in the past
Google already has a position in the mobile payments market, having launched its first platform, Google Wallet, some years ago. The Wallet platform experienced a turbulent launch, with some security issues leaving consumers wary of the concept of mobile transactions. Google has been working to improve the Wallet service and it has begun to generate momentum among consumers, but the company may be showing more priority for Android Pay in the future. Google does not have plans to kill its Wallet service, however, and both services are likely to work alongside one another.
Android Pay already has significant support
Android Pay already has significant support in many parts of the United States. Once launched, the service will be accepted in more than 700,000 stores throughout the country. Transactions and financial information will be protected by biometric technology, with a user’s fingerprint serving as the key that unlocks the mobile payments service.
Google will have to fight Apple and Samsung in order to find success in the mobile payments field
Google will be competing directly with both Samsung and Apple, both of whom have their own mobile payments services. Apple has, perhaps, established a more formidable foothold in the market, as its payment service was launched last year and has already attracted significant consumer support. Apple plans to launch its service in the United Kingdom in the near future. Samsung is currently testing its own payment service in South Korea, with plans to launch the service at some point later this year.
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