First there was Google Wallet, then there was Andriod Pay and then there was the new and improved version of Google Wallet. Confused? You are not alone. There is enough confusion that AndroidCentral wrote an article to help explain:
Google Wallet never really took off in a way that Google wanted, but still to this day has lots of users for some of its features. Even though people may not be using Wallet to pay every time they walk into a convenience store or use a vending machine, they’re using the app for money transfers and still have payment info stored for online payments.
So rather than continue down the path of using one app for everything, Google is splitting up the mobile payment and money management into two apps — Android Pay, and a new Google Wallet
So Andriod Pay is strictly for NFC, in store and someday on-line purchases. Google Wallet is for P2P transactions to rival Venmo, Square Cash and others. Google Wallet is still where the details for the Google Wallet Card are managed.
And there is more:
In the future, Android Pay is also slated to handle online and in-app purchases, as Google Wallet (and transitioning to “Google Payments”) currently does. This means that cards you have added to your account in Android Pay will also be available for purchases on websites and in apps that support the Android Pay system. Think of this as a direct competitor to in-app purchasing platforms from PayPal and Amazon, and eventually fully replacing online payments that are currently handled by Google Wallet.
During this transition from the old Google Wallet to Android Pay, if you already have the old Wallet app installed on your phone it will eventually be updated in the Play Store to become Android Pay. If you never installed Wallet, you’ll be able to simply download Android Pay once it becomes available in the Play Store.
That clears it up, right?
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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