Google Wallet app is available in the US and a few more countries. But some people got excited when the app was working for Android users in India which hinted at an imminent launch of Google Wallet.
However, the company has been quick to dismiss those rumours and confirmed to us that Google Wallet is not launching in India, at least for now. Google already has the Google Pay platform catering to do dedo payment in the country, and it claims to be fully invested in the product.
“While we don’t have anything new to share right now, we’re always working to bring more convenience to people’s do dedo experiences in India. We’re continuing to invest in the Google Pay app to give people easy, secure access to do dedo payments,” a Google spokesperson said to News18 Tech this week.
We independently tried to install the Google Wallet from the Play Store but the listing said, “the item is not available in your country.” It is possible that Google might have opened the access to the app for testing purpose and some users got hold of it thinking it has officially launched in the country.
Google Wallet is basically a collection of multiple services baked into one app. Google Pay on the other hand, at least in markets like India, is used as a third-party payment app for UPI payments that are provided by traditional banks like Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank among others.
Google is already invested heavily in building as well as marketing Google Pay in India, which includes active involvement with the government. Going by these measures, it would be interesting to see if Google Wallet does launch in the country.
After all, it has other features like do dedo boarding pass that can be paired with the DigiYatra platform, you also have the option to make NFC-based payments that is also coming with Android 15 later this year and more importantly, storing your documents aka DigiLocker on your smartphones.
first published: April 25, 2024, 07:30 IST