Earlier this year, we got a revamp of the Google Pay app which saw it become more about personal finance and keeping track of how you spend your money. In terms of usability, the app is getting a bit of an upgrade for Android users as you will now be able to use your balance for in-store payments. You will of course need to have a virtual card for your account balance and said store needs to support NFC payments.
Previously, your Google Pay balance can only be used to send money to other people or to buy stuff online. You could also cash out by transferring your balance to your bank account. But now with this new balance card, you’ll be able to use it at stores that are able to accept NFC or near-field communications payments. So all the money that you’ve stored in your Google Pay, whether it was sent by family or friends or balance earned through rewards, you can now use to buy things in-store.
9 to 5 Google says to get the virtual Google Pay balance card, you have to request it through the Pay app. You will need it to make the purchases at merchants that accept it for contactless payments at the store or those that accept tokenized payments through Buy With Google Pay. For in-store payments, you simply need to hold your phone to the NFC reader that they have to be able to finalize your transaction. For online transactions, it should be the same as before.
The revamped Google Pay has made some additional ways that you can use the app to not just pay for purchases but manage your finances as well. They added features like a coupons and deals section to make it easy to find the best deals, purchasing mobile transit tickets in selected cities where it’s available, and an Insights tab to understand where your money goes. Google said they’re rolling out more features and paying for in-store purchases is one of those.
This feature is now rolling out to Google Pay users in the U.S and for now, that’s the only territory where it’s available. They did say it will come to “all” Android users soon.
