Yesterday Google unveiled Android Pay at the Google I/O developer conference, which is a competitor to Apple Pay,.
Apple pay allows iPhone 6, 6 Plus, and Apple Watch users to make purchases on their device or in brick-and-mortar stores.
With Android Pay users can make purchases both in-app and at physical retail stores. The new feature works through near field communication (NFC) on devices running KitKat or higher at over 700,000 U.S. stores.
For select retailers, Android Pay will apply customer rewards at checkout. Though Apple Pay doesn’t currently work with loyalty programs, it is expected to announce a similar capability soon.
Android Pay is also going to support fingerprint-scanning technology on Google’s upcoming Android M software (much like Apple’s Touch ID).
Android Pay has much more opportunity for success than its predecessor, Google Wallet.
Google Wallet failed to take off in a big way because mobile carriers like Verizon and AT&T blocked the company from accessing a chip called “the secure element,” a component that allows financial information and other credentials to be safely stored. The carriers were working on a competing mobile wallet called Softcard, which Google acquired.
Samsung which makes the most popular Android devices also has plans to launch its own mobile payment platform, Samsung Pay, this summer.
