Alphabet Inc, the company behind search engine giant Google, has launched Google Wallet in South Africa. In July this year, it was officially made available on Android and Wear OS devices in 39 countries. Now South Africa has joined the list of countries where Google Wallet is available.
Google Wallet is a digital wallet that provides you access to essentials like your payments cards, loyalty cards, concert tickets, and more – all from your Android phone. Not to be confused with Google Pay, Google Wallet is much more and now has Google Pay embedded in the Google Wallet.
Google Wallet has partnered with six banks, namely, FirstRand (Visa cards), Absa Bank (Visa cards), Nedbank (Visa and Mastercard cards), Standard Bank (Visa and Mastercard cards), Discovery Bank (Visa cards), and Investec (Visa cards) to launch in South Africa. This means that cardholders on these banks can add their cards to Google Wallet.
They will then be able to pay with their Android phones or use OS devices where contactless payments are accepted.
According to Google SA Country Director, Alistair Mokoena, said in a statement, “Access to technology is vital for economic prosperity as millions of people use their mobile devices daily to tap and pay at stores, pay for public transportation and to utilise a variety of passes. At Google, we have learned that great things happen when technology works for everyone.”
“By including everyone – a dynamic ecosystem of manufacturers, developers and users – we want to make digital wallets accessible to everyone through fast, secure access to their everyday essentials.” he added
Google Wallet has also partnered with four international airlines in South Africa, namely, Air France, KLM, Singapore Airlines and United so that users can store digital boarding passes and tickets within the Google Wallet and this will be accepted by airlines.
How to get started with Google Wallet
Getting started is simple. Open the Google Wallet app or download it on Google Play. Tap ‘Add to Wallet’, follow the instructions, and verify your card if needed. You’re all set!
If you already have the Google Pay app, you don’t need to download anything new, but may need to update in the Play Store.
Security and privacy are built into every part of Google Wallet to keep all your essentials protected. When you tap to pay with your Android phone, Google Pay doesn’t share your real credit card number with the business, so your payment info stays safe.
