We want to help you make more informed decisions. Some links on this page — clearly marked — may take you to a partner website and may result in us earning a referral commission. For more information, see How We Make Money. Show Have you ever gotten to the front of the grocery checkout line with a full cart only to realize you left your wallet at home? This is exactly when mobile wallets like Google Pay and Apple Pay come in handy. Even if you didn’t forget your wallet, Google Pay can make it easier to split the bill at a restaurant or take extra precautions to avoid germs on payment keypads during the pandemic. Here’s what you need to know about Google Pay: What Is Google Pay?Google Pay is a mobile wallet similar to Apple Pay or Samsung Pay, and is most accessible for Android users since, in 2018, Google introduced Google Pay as a revamp of both its legacy Google Wallet payment system and Android Pay. A recent Mastercard survey found that 79% of users globally are now using contactless payments — including tap cards and mobile wallets (like Google Pay or Apple Pay). You can use Google Pay to pay for items when checking out online, making purchases in stores that accommodate contactless payments, to pay for in-app purchases on your phone, or to send and receive payments with others. To use Google Pay (or any contactless payment method) in-store, make sure the retailer has a contactless-enabled point-of-sale system. Look for a sideways WiFi icon, or the Google Pay logo near the card reader. As long as the merchant has a contactless-enabled register, you’ll generally be able to transact using Google Pay, Apple Pay, other mobile wallets, or contactless credit cards. One big caveat of Google Pay is that in-store contactless payments are only available on Android devices. If you have an iPhone, you can use the app for online or peer-to-peer payments, but you won’t be able to tap-to-pay at checkout using Google Pay. However, you can still make contactless payments where accepted using other mobile wallets or a contactless credit card. How Does Google Pay Work?Many Android devices come with the Google Pay app pre-downloaded. If you don’t have it, or have a non-Android device, you can download the Google Pay app. You’ll be prompted to enter account information for a debit or credit card, which will be the method you use to pay for items with Google Pay. You can add multiple cards, and easily take a picture of the card information to add them to your account. You’ll also need to verify your card details, which you can do in a few different ways:
After you verify your cards, they’ll be loaded to your Google Pay account and you can begin using Google Pay to make purchases. The system also offers insights on your spending patterns and gives you suggestions of where you can save money. You can also link a bank account to Google Pay to use with the app’s peer-to-peer payment feature. You won’t be able to use those bank account details to purchase items in the app or tap-to-pay at retailers. Is Google Pay Safe?Mobile wallets like Google Pay offer security measures including multifactor authentication and tokenization to ensure your payments are secure. When you make a payment using your mobile wallet, you’ll have to confirm using a secure PIN or biometrics associated with your device, like facial or fingerprint recognition (your iPhone’s FaceID, for example). And when you upload a card as a payment method in the Google Pay app, Google protects that card against fraud by using virtual account numbers, or tokenization. That way, merchants won’t receive your real card number when you check out online or in-store. Instead, they’ll receive stand-in information from Google, while your payment details are saved on a secure server using strong encryption. Google Pay also helps identify phishing and fraud risks whenever you send or receive money on the app by verifying that any payments are sent or received only from your contacts. If you’re trying to send or receive payment from someone not in your contacts, Google Pay will require extra confirmation and verification before letting the transaction through. How Much Does It Cost to Use Google Pay?Google Pay is a free mobile app. You won’t pay any additional fees for using Google Pay to make purchases. If you have money in your Google Pay account that you’d like to transfer out, you may incur transfer fees. Transfers are free to linked bank accounts, but you’ll pay 1.5% or $0.31 (whichever is higher) to transfer money to a debit card. What is Google Pay Send?Google Pay Send is the peer-to-peer payment feature of Google Pay that allows you to send money and get paid by others, similar to Venmo or Zelle. You can also split expenses for a group, and Google Pay will keep track of who owes what. Google limits the amount of money you can send with this feature. You won’t be able to send more than $10,000 in a single transaction or within seven days. To use Google Pay Send, you’ll need to connect a debit card or bank account to your Google Pay app — you cannot send or receive money using a linked credit card. Can You Earn Rewards with Google Pay?You can earn cashback rewards when you activate offers from different businesses and then use Google Pay to make purchases online and in stores. This works similarly to cashback sites like Rakuten or discounts you receive through your credit card issuer, like Amex Offers. You can see popular offers when you open your app: Once you activate the rewards in your app, they’ll automatically apply when you use Google Pay and your linked payment method to make the purchase. You’ll also still receive any rewards you would typically earn with your credit card when you spend in eligible categories using Google Pay or any other mobile wallet. These rewards are based on merchant category codes, which don’t change when you tap-to-pay instead of swiping.
Google Wallet gives you fast, secure access to your everyday essentials. Take the train, go to a movie, tap to pay in shops and more – all with your phone.
Google Pay is a simple, secure, and seamless way to pay and save, giving you helpful ways to do more with your money:- Pay at your favorite places- Send and receive money instantly- Earn rewards for everyday payments- Discover offers from your favorite places- Understand your spendingMAKE PAYMENTS FAST & EASYSend & receive money+ Transfer money easily to friends & family safely+ Create a group to send and receive money for things like trips, dinner, bills, rent, and more. Google Pay will even help you do the math on who owes what.+ Money transfers are instant and free with your Google Pay balance. There are no fees if you use yoour linked bank account to withdraw funds.Your shared payments stay with the group+ When you send a payment with Google Pay, it stays between you and your friends. Only the people involved in the transaction see it.Connect with your favorite businesses and discover new ones+ See businesses where you’ve used Google Pay when you open the app. Get quick access to your transactions and activate offers.Shop online+ Use Google Pay to check out quickly and securely when you shop on websites and apps.SAVE YOUR MONEYA more rewarding way to shop+ Get cashback for things like paying friends. Any money you receive will go straight to your balance so you can use it instantly.Take your rewards even further+ Activate offers and get cashback for redeeming them – whether you use Google Pay or your plastic card. Better yet: get twice the rewards when you redeem with a cashback credit card.SEE HOW YOU'RE SPENDINGStay on top of your spending+ See the total balance and weekly summaries from all of your accounts in one payment app, so you’ll always know exactly what’s coming in and what’s going out.+ View recent purchases and upcoming payments to see how you're spendingAccess all your transactions with a simple search+ With your permission, you can see activity from accounts you've linked. Import receipts from Gmail and Google Photos and then simply search for any of them.SAFER WITH GOOGLEAuthentication for every payment+ You'll need to use your fingerprint, pattern, PIN, or face to verify your identity each time you open the app or make a payment — only you can pay or send moneyKeeping your private information safe+ Try out a more personalized experience to see the most relevant offers from stores and get recommendations for ways to save. Turn it on or off at any time.+ Manage and control personalization and other privacy settings like location preferences and contact syncing from settings___________________________Still have questions? Head over to https://support.google.com/googlepay *Payments processed by Google Payment Corp., a licensed money transmitter (NMLS ID: 911607). Licensed as a money transmitter by the NY State Dept. of Financial Services and to Transmit Money By Check, Draft or Money Order By The Department of Banking and Securities, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. To learn more about Google Payments, visit the Google Payments Help Center.
Oct 17, 2022 Version 164.0
We've listened to your feedback and we've made several improvements to the payment experience. As always, we are here to help! Please share your feedback with us, to help further improve your mobile payments experience.
The developer, Google LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity: Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
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