14 DAY TRIAL // Google confirmed back in May it plans to launch its own mobile payment service, which should be available in the United States sometime in Q3 2015.
True to its promise, the search giant announced today that Android Pay should now be available to consumers in the United States.
“Today, we’re beginning to roll out Android Pay - the simple and secure way to pay with your Android phone at over one million locations across the US.
“Android Pay also stores your gift cards, loyalty cards and special offers right on your phone. We’ll be rolling out gradually over the next few days, and this is just the beginning,” says Google in a blog post.
Furthermore, the company promises to bring more features, banks and store locations in the coming months, so that customers can use their Android smartphones to make payments while on the go.
It's also worth mentioning that Google's new mobile payment service will only work with NFC-enabled devices powered by Android 4.4 KitKat or later.
Google Wallet users can access Android Pay through an update
Also, Google confirmed that supported Android devices would work regardless of the mobile carrier the customer uses.
Android Pay is supposed to support credit and debit cards from the four major payment networks: American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa.
As many of you probably know by now, these cards are issued by some of the most popular US banks and credit unions like American Express, Bank of America, Discover, Navy Federal Credit Union, PNC, Regions Bank, USAA, and US Bank.
According to Google, Wells Fargo will be available in the next few days, while Capital One and Citi will be coming soon as well.
Keep in mind that if you're an existing Google Wallet user, you will be able to access Android Pay via an update to the Wallet application. On the other hand, new users will be able to download Android Pay for free via Google Play Store in the next few days.
The application will also come pre-installed on new NFC-enabled Android phones from US-based carries like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless.
Unfortunately, there's no word on when and if Android Pay service will be launched in other countries in the future.