Google Wallet may return as a feature set in Google Play Services. Image: Florence Ion/Gizmodo/Mishaal Rahman
It’s the perfect time between two Easter holidays (Orthodox Easter is this Sunday!) to announce that Google Wallet has (probably) been on the rise. According to well-known code sniffer Mishaal Rahman, Google Wallet is (probably) returning to Android. But you never know about this company.
April 18, Rahman tweet A series of screenshots showing the new wallet interface in Google Play Services. The images show that the Wallet name is back, with a new icon showing the type of wallet clip you want to keep in your back pocket. (I hate to say it resembles the Apple Wallet icon, but uses Google’s primary colors.) Last week, when Google updated its Workspace assets, the new icon leaked.
The wallet interface looks more suited to expanding your debit and credit cards and everything in between, rather than managing your payment history and bank transactions like Google Pay does now. The screenshot also shows a similar list of loyalty cards and membership cards, transit passes and air tickets. However, you can now access all of this from the payment screen in Google Pay after entering your secure credentials.
It looks like this is just an interface for a new organization rather than a completely different service, as Google has done a lot over the past few years to integrate wallet-like capabilities into what is now known as Google Pay.
But it’s still a little confusing to see these images. As a long-time user of Google’s apps and services, the company often seems to do a lot of work introducing new features and then seemingly suddenly change the course. I hope these Wallet screenshots don’t hint at something completely new on the horizon, as I’ve migrated every account and membership to Google Pay as my primary way of paying with my smartphone.
Considering what it was like on Android before the 2020 rebrand, it’s a wonder if Google will reintroduce Wallet in a way it never had before. (Though, that was also the case when it was Android Pay? It’s been rebranded several times throughout Android’s lifespan.) In any case, it’s best not to keep wondering about how to make contactless payments from my Android device Confused lest I give up and fully revert to Samsung Pay from now on.
