Google Wallet launches in South Africa

Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google, has launched Google Wallet in South Africa. It was officially made available on Android and Wear OS devices in 39 countries in July of this year. South Africa has now joined the list of countries that offer Google Wallet.

Google Wallet is a digital wallet that allows you to access important items such as payment cards, loyalty cards, concert tickets, and more from your Android phone. Not to be confused with Google Pay, Google Wallet is much more comprehensive and now includes Google Pay.

Google Wallet has partnered with six banks, namely, FirstRand (Visa cards), Absa Bank (Visa cards), Nedbank (Visa and Mastercard cards), Standard Bank (Visa and Mastercard cards), Discovery Bank (Visa cards), and Investec (Visa cards) to launch in South Africa. This means that cardholders on these banks can add their cards to Google Wallet.

They will then be able to pay with their Android phones or use OS devices where contactless payments are accepted.

According to Google SA Country Director, Alistair Mokoena, said in a statement, “Access to technology is vital for economic prosperity as millions of people use their mobile devices daily to tap and pay at stores, pay for public transportation and to utilise a variety of passes. At Google, we have learned that great things happen when technology works for everyone.”

“By including everyone – a dynamic ecosystem of manufacturers, developers and users – we want to make digital wallets accessible to everyone through fast, secure access to their everyday essentials.” he added

Google Wallet has also partnered with four international airlines in South Africa, namely, Air France, KLM, Singapore Airlines and United so that users can store digital boarding passes and tickets within the Google Wallet and this will be accepted by airlines.

How to get started with Google Wallet

Getting started is simple. Open the Google Wallet app or download it on Google Play. Tap ‘Add to Wallet’, follow the instructions, and verify your card if needed. You’re all set!

If you already have the Google Pay app, you don’t need to download anything new, but may need to update in the Play Store.

Security and privacy are built into every part of Google Wallet to keep all your essentials protected. When you tap to pay with your Android phone, Google Pay doesn’t share your real credit card number with the business, so your payment info stays safe.