Update, August 5, 2024 (06:40 AM ET): The “Everything Else” option in Google Wallet is now rolling out. 9to5Google mentions that they are seeing this option on Google Pixel devices, but not on devices from Samsung.

Original article, July 15, 2024 (08:28 AM ET): Google Wallet is getting a new feature that will let you scan and store digital copies of text-only documents and passes. Google first showcased the feature at I/O this year and, while it’s yet to roll out, we’ve managed to enable it manually to give you an early look.

Using PayPal to purchase things with Google Wallet is nothing new. The ability to use the service as a payment method has been around for a while. Something you haven’t been able to do, however, is use PayPal on your smartwatch. But the latest Android Feature Drop will change that.

Google has just announced a bevy of new features coming to Android in today’s Feature Drop. Among the many new functions coming our way, Google revealed that Wear OS watch owners are getting a way to pay from their wrist.

So far, Google Wallet for Wear OS has allowed you to make payments using credit or debit cards. Well, Google is now adding a new payment option to its digital wallet app for wearables.

Google has announced that Google Wallet for Wear OS now supports PayPal. Currently, the feature is live only in the United States and Germany. Expect the company to extend the support for PayPal in Google Wallet for Wear OS to other regions over the next few months. That means you can now pay using PayPal through Google Wallet on your Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 5, and Galaxy Watch 6 series models.

How to add PayPal as a payment method in Google Wallet on Galaxy Watch?

To add PayPal as a payment method in Google Wallet on your Galaxy Watch, open the Google Wallet app on your wearable. If you have not added any payment method to the app yet, it will show you the plus icon. If you have added a payment method, scroll down, and you should be able to see the plus icon. Tap on this icon.

The story continues after the video…

Your watch will then ask you to continue the setup on your phone. Once your phone brings up Google Wallet, tap on Add to watch, click on Payment card, and select PayPal. From there, follow the directions that the app shows. Once you complete the setup, you should be able to see PayPal as a payment option in Google Wallet on your Galaxy Watch.

The post Google Wallet on your Galaxy Watch now supports PayPal appeared first on SamMobile.

Google Wallet is a mobile payment app that also serves as a digital wallet where you can store your cards, IDs, passes, and other information. Google is working on adding support for e-Passports in Google Wallet, and it could do so in a way that reduces your need to pull it out often, though you’ll still need it around.

Android Authority contributor Assemble Debug spotted a new in-development feature in Google Wallet v24.18.633340707 and Google Play Services v24.20.13 beta. This feature would allow users to add their e-Passports to Google Wallet as an ID pass.

Google Wallet is the company’s first-party payment solution on Android phones and watches, allowing you to quickly make payments via NFC and store passes/tickets. Unfortunately, it looks like Google is phasing out support for super-old phones and watches.

9to5Google spotted an official support page that reveals Google Wallet will require Android 9 Pie or higher on Android. Furthermore, Wallet on smartwatches will require Wear OS 2.x or later. This new requirement goes into effect from June 10, 2024.

Google is infamous for its confused ecosystem strategy, and the Google Wallet and Google Pay apps are prime examples of said confusion. At an event in India today, Google launched the Google Wallet app for the country, but it will coexist alongside the Google Pay app.

Google Wallet in India

Google has officially launched Google Wallet in India. The Wallet app will allow users to store boarding passes, gift cards, loyalty cards, event cards, movie tickets, car keys, access cards, and even provide transit OTAs.

Expanding on the above, this is what you can do with Google Wallet in India:

• Save movie and event tickets with partners PVR and Inox
• Access boarding passes with airline partners Air India, Air India Express, and online travel companies MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip, and Ixigo.
• Redeem loyalty or gift cards with shopping partners Flipkart  (Supercoins), Dominos, Shoppers Stop, and brands supported by loyalty program enablers like Pinelabs, EasyRewardz, and Twid.
• Store your transit tickets when traveling with partners Kochi Metro, Hyderabad Metro, VRL Travels, and Abhibus.
• Use your Android phone as your corporate badge with system integrator partners like Wavelynx and Alert Enterprise.
• Digitize physical documents that contain a barcode or QR code, like luggage tags or parking receipts.
• Automatically view important tickets from Gmail, whenever you get a confirmation email for movie tickets, IPL tickets, or train tickets, provided you have smart personalization settings in Gmail turned on.

Google Pixel devices sold in India will come preloaded with the Google Wallet app. Users can also add Google Wallet as a lock screen shortcut, allowing for quick and easy access. Further, Pixel users can quickly add boarding passes to their Google Wallet by taking a screenshot and tapping the “Add to Google Wallet.”

Sadly, Google also confirmed that Google Wallet is not extending to wearables in India. So, the stored data in Google Wallet will remain accessible only through your phone.

Google Pay will coexist alongside Google Wallet in India

You might have noticed that payment-related functionality seems weirdly absent from Google Wallet in India. That is because the Google Wallet app will coexist alongside the popular Google Pay app in India.

Google Pay will remain the primary use case for payments in the country, while Google Wallet is a digital store of access information. No payments will be done through Google Wallet in India. If you want to add a card or pay through your phone’s NFC, you will have to use the Google Pay app, which supports this functionality.

Google keeps complicating Google Wallet and Google Pay in its ecosystem

Google first launched Wallet in 2011 and then launched Android Pay in 2015. In 2018, Android Pay and Google Wallet were merged into a single app called Google Pay.

Separately, Google launched Tez, a mobile payments service, in 2017 in India, specifically targeting UPI payments. Google Tez was then rebranded into Google Pay in 2018. At this point, there existed Google Pay and Google Pay (Tez) apps for Android users, demarcated by where you live.

Then, in 2022, Google launched Google Wallet globally as a digital wallet platform, mentioning that the Google Pay app will update to Google Wallet. However, Google Pay would coexist with Google Wallet in the US and Singapore. In India, Google Pay (the Tez version) would exist without any wallet functionality.

Now, in 2024, Google announced earlier in the year that Google Pay in the US would be shut down in June, with its functionality largely replaced and integrated into Google Wallet. The Google Pay app will remain only in Singapore and India.

In India, Google Pay is very popular as a payment platform for daily UPI payments through QR codes, so I can see why Google would want the branding to remain. But today, Google Wallet has been launched in the country, bringing us back to a situation where both apps coexist (but only in India and Singapore). For the rest of the world, everything is now within the Google Wallet app.

You can see how confusing the whole ordeal is. We hope Google remains committed to simplifying its branding and following a more cohesive app strategy.

Google is infamous for its confused ecosystem strategy, and the Google Wallet and Google Pay apps are prime examples of said confusion. At an event in India today, Google launched the Google Wallet app for the country, but it will coexist alongside the Google Pay app.

Google Wallet in India

Google has officially launched Google Wallet in India. The Wallet app will allow users to store boarding passes, gift cards, loyalty cards, event cards, movie tickets, car keys, access cards, and even provide transit OTAs.

Expanding on the above, this is what you can do with Google Wallet in India:

• Save movie and event tickets with partners PVR and Inox
• Access boarding passes with airline partners Air India, Air India Express, and online travel companies MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip, and Ixigo.
• Redeem loyalty or gift cards with shopping partners Flipkart  (Supercoins), Dominos, Shoppers Stop, and brands supported by loyalty program enablers like Pinelabs, EasyRewardz, and Twid.
• Store your transit tickets when traveling with partners Kochi Metro, Hyderabad Metro, VRL Travels, and Abhibus.
• Use your Android phone as your corporate badge with system integrator partners like Wavelynx and Alert Enterprise.
• Digitize physical documents that contain a barcode or QR code, like luggage tags or parking receipts.
• Automatically view important tickets from Gmail, whenever you get a confirmation email for movie tickets, IPL tickets, or train tickets, provided you have smart personalization settings in Gmail turned on.

Google Pixel devices sold in India will come preloaded with the Google Wallet app. Users can also add Google Wallet as a lock screen shortcut, allowing for quick and easy access. Further, Pixel users can quickly add boarding passes to their Google Wallet by taking a screenshot and tapping the “Add to Google Wallet.”

Sadly, Google also confirmed that Google Wallet is not extending to wearables in India. So, the stored data in Google Wallet will remain accessible only through your phone.

Google Pay will coexist alongside Google Wallet in India

You might have noticed that payment-related functionality seems weirdly absent from Google Wallet in India. That is because the Google Wallet app will coexist alongside the popular Google Pay app in India.

Google Pay will remain the primary use case for payments in the country, while Google Wallet is a digital store of access information. No payments will be done through Google Wallet in India. If you want to add a card or pay through your phone’s NFC, you will have to use the Google Pay app, which supports this functionality.

Google keeps complicating Google Wallet and Google Pay in its ecosystem

Google first launched Wallet in 2011 and then launched Android Pay in 2015. In 2018, Android Pay and Google Wallet were merged into a single app called Google Pay.

Separately, Google launched Tez, a mobile payments service, in 2017 in India, specifically targeting UPI payments. Google Tez was then rebranded into Google Pay in 2018. At this point, there existed Google Pay and Google Pay (Tez) apps for Android users, demarcated by where you live.

Then, in 2022, Google launched Google Wallet globally as a digital wallet platform, mentioning that the Google Pay app will update to Google Wallet. However, Google Pay would coexist with Google Wallet in the US and Singapore. In India, Google Pay (the Tez version) would exist without any wallet functionality.

Now, in 2024, Google announced earlier in the year that Google Pay in the US would be shut down in June, with its functionality largely replaced and integrated into Google Wallet. The Google Pay app will remain only in Singapore and India.

In India, Google Pay is very popular as a payment platform for daily UPI payments through QR codes, so I can see why Google would want the branding to remain. But today, Google Wallet has been launched in the country, bringing us back to a situation where both apps coexist (but only in India and Singapore). For the rest of the world, everything is now within the Google Wallet app.

You can see how confusing the whole ordeal is. We hope Google remains committed to simplifying its branding and following a more cohesive app strategy.

Contactless payments with Fitbit are about to change. Google plans to shut down Fitbit Pay and replace it with Google Wallet in the coming months.

The Fitbit team has sent out emails (h/t Droid Life) to users notifying them that it is updating its contactless payments feature. After July 29, Fitbit Pay will be replaced by Wallet, which the company says “will increase the number of banks and cards that are available for contactless payments on your Fitbit device.” However, for those who live in Saudi Arabia, Japan, or Taiwan, you’ll be able to continue using Fitbit Pay past July 29.

If you use Google Wallet on Wear OS for tap-to-pay transactions, using the feature could soon become more tedious. The service may start requiring you to enter a PIN code before allowing you to use the quick payment method.

Normally, when using the Google Wallet tap-to-pay function on your smartwatch, you can just tap and go. Unless the device senses that it has separated far enough from your body, then it will ask for PIN. However, some users are reporting that a PIN code prompt is now popping up every time they try to use tap-to-pay, according to 9to5Google.

The Google Wallet app has undergone a few changes over the last several weeks. Last month, the app added an extra layer of verification for transit payments. Not much later, Google began asking Wallet users on Android phones to re-verify their identity after three minutes, regardless of whether the phone was in use or not. It now looks like this phenomenon could also spread to Wear OS devices, at least based on multiple user reports on Reddit.