In 2016, Google began a public trial in Silicon Valley of a related mobile app called Hands Free.

The service works with both credit and debit cards. Android Pay launched in the Republic of Ireland on Decemand was initially available to customers of AIB and KBC, having since been extended to Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank. Android Pay was launched in Singapore on June 28, 2016, and in Australia on July 14, 2016. On Septemit was reported that UK banks TSB and Santander would be participating in the following weeks. Natwest, RBS and Ulster Bank launched on September 14, 2016. Upon its UK launch Android Pay supported MasterCard and Visa credit and debit cards from many of the UK's major financial institutions - including Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA and Nationwide Building Society - 'with new banks being added all the time' according to Google. Google Wallet still powered web-based Play Store purchases and some app-based peer-to-peer payments, for instance in Gmail.Īs of 2020, it is currently available in 40 countries. At launch, the service was compatible with 70% of Android devices, and was accepted at over 700,000 merchants.

It also used technology from the carrier-backed Softcard-Google had acquired its intellectual property in February 2015. Android Pay was a successor to and built on the base established by Google Wallet which was released in 2011. Originally launched as Android Pay, the service was released at Google I/O 2015.

Android pay