Did you attend Google I/O 2015 in San Francisco? Neither did I, but there was plenty of news that came out of Google’s annual developers conference this year. Most notably Google’s unveiling of Android Pay, clearly a competitive shot at Apple.
Game changer? Similar to Apple Pay, Android Pay will employ tokenization and host card emulation which keeps the card number and card holder information private. If the technologies are now the same, who is the winner? Easy, consumers. Android devices represent more than 78% of all smartphones in the US according to IDC's Q1 2015 numbers. Apple devices declined to 18% of the smartphone space, according to IDC. With Google upping their stake in secure mobile payments, it is clear that mobile wallets are here to stay. Here are 5 fast facts regarding Android Pay:
- Android Pay will work on Android devices running KitKat, the operating system not the candy bar, and higher.
- Android Pay will provide the same security measures as Apple Pay and will be accepted by retailers using NFC point-of-sale terminals.
- Newer Android devices will have the option to incorporate fingerprint verification for transactions, like Apple Pay.
- Google created Android Pay as an open API, this allows developers to build Android Pay into their own apps. This is a significant win for credit unions as members could potentially use a single app for mobile banking and mobile wallet functions, if their app developer leverages Google’s API.
- Both MasterCard and Discover have already announced Android Pay support to their card holders.
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