Still a rare sight that people pay with their smartphones. This is probably also due to the fact that Google Pay has hardly any active users. Last year there was a study by Pulse Network that painted a disastrous picture for Google Pay. Perhaps one of the reasons why Google is launching the new branding these days, turning Google Pay into Google Wallet again. If you believe the study, Google Pay was stillborn, even in Google’s home market.
Google Pay is very far behind
The smartphone operating system market is split almost 50/50 in the USA. So Apple doesn’t exactly have a huge advantage because they have a lot more users. Nevertheless, 92 percent of all “mobile wallet transactions” were made with Apple Pay. And even Samsung Pay, which can be used on far fewer devices, had a higher market share at 5 percent than Google Pay at 3 percent.
Google Pay kind of goes under the radar. Yet it is so easy to use. A hurdle in this country is probably still the necessary credit card or debit card, which still not every bank customer has “just like that” available. If they are included with modern banks like ING, this is not the case with “old” banks.
Google Wallet: brand comeback as a fresh start
Still, Google should step on the gas in the near future when Google Pay is just a feature and Google Wallet is the new app. The conversion is currently being initiated, as Google mentioned in the changelog of its latest Google System Updates. Google Wallet is then the digital purse, later also for digital keys, vaccination cards, etc.
Personally, I love being able to pay on the go using only my phone and smartwatch. But at least in my area I still have to realize that I’m very alone with that. If anything, most people still use their plastic cards to make contactless payments.
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