It’s been three months since Google added a new country where people can use their smartphones to pay for online and offline purchases through Android Pay. But today is the day that mobile users in Belgium will be able to do so as the payment gateway finally becomes available in the European country, the fourth one in the continent and the 10th worldwide. Expansion of the platform and adding more countries is a pretty slow process for a lot of the payment gateways, but we’re slowly getting there.
Google has partnered with some of the top banks in Belgium to be able to bring Android Pay to those with compatible devices. So if you have a MasterCard or Visa credit card with BNP Paribas Fortis, Fintro, and Hello! Bank, you will be able to connect them to your smartphone through the Android Pay app. Soon, even your debit cards can also be connected. They’re also finalizing a partnership with CBC/KBC.
Those in Belgium will be able to use Android Pay in more than 85,000 retail stores around the country, specifically those that accept contactless payments including McDonalds, H&M, Media Markt, Quick, etc. You can also use it to make payments in selected apps like Fancy, Hotel Tonight, TransferWise, and more apps like Uber soon.
Android Pay is available for devices running on Android Kitkat 4.4 or higher. It also needs to have NFC tech for the in-store purchases. It looks like Russia is the next country on the list, but there isn’t a specific date yet for the availability.
SOURCE: Google
