Google to launch 'Android Pay': report
Not satisfied to compete against Apple Pay with its existing Wallet system, Google will launch a new automatic-payments tool called Android Pay, 聽according to reports Thursday.
The system will debut in May at聽, Google鈥檚 conference for developers, a source.
Android Pay will let companies add a payment option to their mobile apps, letting users upload credit or debit card information, according to Ars Technica. Payments through that app would then become a single-tap transaction.
Retailers also would be able to add a tap-to-pay feature in their brick-and-mortar stores, the report said.
Unveiled, Apple Pay has been an early success for Google鈥檚 chief rival in the mobile space.
Apple Pay has deals with Visa, MasterCard and American Express, as well as more than 500 banks. It鈥檚 accepted at dozens of major retailers 鈥斅爄ncluding Bloomingdale鈥檚, the Disney Store, McDonald鈥檚, Chevron and Walgreens 鈥斅爓ith more stores, including Starbucks, to come, according to Apple.
Google beat Apple to the mobile-payments punch with Google Wallet in 2011. But Wallet has failed to catch on with retailers and consumers as quickly and widely as Apple Pay has.
The 鈥渟ource close to the matter鈥� told Ars Technica that Google will not be partnering with anyone else on Android Pay. But another report said聽on a new system called Plaso.
Four sources told tech blog The Information that the two companies have been testing the system since last fall. It would let users of Google鈥檚 Android operating system to simply speak their initials at participating cash registers to make a payment, according to the report.
Whatever the details, it鈥檚 almost certain Google will ramp up its mobile-payments efforts soon. Mobile point-of-sale payments have become the norm in countries like Japan and South Korea, but remain a niche market in the United States, offering plenty of room for growth.
Doug Gross is a staff writer covering personal finance for聽. Follow him on Twitter聽and on聽.
