Google Pay, the rebranded merging of Google Wallet and Android Pay, is going live today. With a new app rolling out and a rebranding of another… wait, I thought there was only going to be one app? Yeah… we’ll get there.
First, Google Pay is the rebranding of Android Pay and that app is going live in the Play Store today according to the company’s blog. If you have Android Pay installed on your phone, you will get an OTA update to the new app over the course of the next few days. Regardless of which one you have installed right now, you can still go and use it. This, to an extent, is a rebranding exercise at this point.
Google has also committed to getting support for the Google Pay API into all the Google apps over next few weeks and months.
The app, which begins rolling out today, is just one part of everything we’ve got planned. We’re currently working on bringing Google Pay to all Google products, so whether you’re shopping on Chrome or with your Assistant, you’ll have a consistent checkout experience using the cards saved to your Google Account. We’re also working with partners online and in stores, so you’ll see Google Pay on sites, in apps, and at your favorite places around the world.
The only real confusing part of the announcement is the rebranding of the Google Wallet app to Google Pay Send. This is a temporary thing until the ability to send and receive funds from friends & family is incorporated into the Google Pay app itself.
Google, externally, has flipped the switch on the new name with the old Android Pay site redirecting to the new G Pay site. There is also a link there to get the G Pay app but if you have Android Pay installed, it will show you as already being installed – thus the OTA update coming out today. Based on the device shots on the site, it looks like the new app will be more Material Design in look and feel.
