By Adedapo Adesanya
Google Wallet, a mobile payment system, has officially launched in South Africa with expansion expected in other countries on the continent.
Google Wallet is a virtual platform that allows users to pay and transfer money directly from their phones.
In South Africa, Google Wallet is currently compatible with six banks: FirstRand, Absa, Nedbank, Standard Bank, Discovery Bank, and Investec.
Google Wallet has partnered with four international airlines — United, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France, and Singapore Airlines — that serve South Africa. This will allow digital boarding passes and tickets to be stored in Google Wallet and accepted by airlines.
The initiative will enable Android users to make contactless payments and store digital passes on their phones as it processes a payment token that must be authorised by a fingerprint, face, or pin, to promote user security and mitigate fraud.
It will also allow users to save and access payment cards, event tickets, loyalty cards, and boarding passes.
Users can add payment cards to tap and pay anywhere Google Wallet is accepted or with devices that support near-field communication (NFC).
South Africans who have a credit or debit card saved to their Google account will see their cards automatically appear in Google Wallet. To enable contactless payments, they need to follow the instructions on their phone screen.
Business Post gathered that users who do not have their cards saved and want to add a card to Wallet can do so by selecting the “add a card” prompt in the carousel at the top of the wallet app page.
