Google Pay: Evolution, implementation, and future prospects

What consumer payment needs does Google Pay address online and in-store?

Google Pay gives everyone an opportunity to pay everywhere with their Google Account, whether they are shopping at a physical store, in-app on their Android device, on any website, or across Google products. We want to make the checkout experience fast, easy and safe.

69% of users today drop out of the checkout process while shopping online, and abandon their carts because it takes more than 120 taps/clicks to finish the process. With Google Pay we can enable online checkout in just a few simple clicks.

Contactless is quickly becoming the preferred checkout method in stores across Europe. Furthermore, we also know consumers and merchants worry about fraud and security when they think about payments. Google Pay brings together the best security features from Google, Visa/Mastercard and our partner banks to provide a secure and fast contactless payment experience with Android phones.

What does a consumer need to do to use Google Pay (iOS/Android)?

To use Google Pay on apps, websites and across Google products, you just need to add a debit or credit card to your Google account via the Google Pay app or the Payment centre (payments. google.com). A “Buy with Google Pay” button can then be found in many apps and websites alongside the conventional payment methods. Google Pay automatically enters the billing, delivery and payment data for the user.

For selected banks across Europe, users can also follow a safe and easy authentication process to enable their credit or debit card for in-store contactless payments. The user will be authenticated by their bank’s security system and their payment information will be uniquely encrypted for their mobile device. Once the user is set up, tapping their Android smartphone to the store’s contactless terminal is enough to check out.

There is a multitude of payment methods available to merchants. What additional value does Google Pay bring to merchants?

Google Pay offers a set of benefits for both users and merchants.

First: added security -- the data of a user’s credit card is neither stored on the mobile device nor in the system of the seller. When users pay with Google Pay in stores, their transactions are made using a virtual card number called a token, which is devicespecific. Such precautions provide an extra layer of security.

Second: improved checkout experience -- Google has billions of engaged users across several products. For these users, once they have their forms of payment saved with Google Pay, merchants can offer significantly simplified checkout experience in 2-3 clicks. Our partners already report on improvements in conversion rates, client retention and client acquisition thanks to Google Pay.

Third: Loyalty and offers -- There’s also an additional benefit for merchants who have loyalty programs and offers/gift cards as Google Pay users can store their loyalty and gift cards. We will remind users to apply those at the checkout when they are in the vicinity of the respective merchants.

How can Google Pay be implemented online and in-stores? Which PSPs and terminal providers support Google Pay?

For in-store, all payment terminals that accept contactless can accept Google Pay so no additional implementation or work is required from the merchants, beyond simply enabling contactless payments at their stores and educating their staff on how those work. To make online possible, the merchant just needs to make sure their payment service provider (PSP) already supports Google Pay. Once the merchant confirms PSP readiness, our easy to integrate API requires less than 100 lines of code and enables Google Pay on both apps and websites.

Google doesn’t charge merchants or PSPs anything for offering Google Pay as a payment option. Similarly, users are not charged anything for using Google Pay either in-store or online.

Which countries are already using Google Pay? Where will you be launching next?

The Google Pay in-store experience is currently available in 19 countries globally including Canada, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Spain, the UK, and Germany with more to come. Google Pay, implemented at supported online merchants and across Google products, is already available worldwide today.

Could you elaborate a bit on future developments and services added, such as voice commerce?

We’re excited about the future of Google Pay and the opportunities it can offer. We’re already working on a number of interesting areas such as expanding our support for public transport, or allowing users to save their concert or event tickets into Google Pay. We’re also working closely with our partner banks to bring innovation to the industry, like allowing newly created cards to be added to Google Pay instantly without waiting for the physical card to arrive via post, or exploring opportunities of integrating payment experiences into the Google Assistant.

About Mounir Mouawad

Mounir Mouawad heads up product strategy and operations for Google Pay in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to that he worked across a variety of roles in e-commerce, supporting some of Google’s largest e-commerce clients in Europe. Mounir holds a computer engineering degree from the American University of Beirut and an MBA from London Business School.

About Google Pay

Google Pay is the fast, simple way to pay in millions of places – online, in stores, and more. It brings together everything you need at checkout and keeps your information safe and secure. Plus, you can manage your account wherever you want – on the web or in the app.