Google has launched its digital wallet – Google Wallet in India. Individuals can download it on their Android smartphones to access it. However, do note Google Wallet and Google Pay are two separate applications with different features and use cases.
What is Google Wallet and how does it work?
Google Wallet is a digital wallet on Android that gives you access to everyday essentials like flight boarding passes, cinema and other event tickets, bus tickets, brand loyalty cards, photographs of important credentials, and others.
As per the press release, Google has partnered with 20 of India’s top brands to enable the Google Wallet experience, including PVR & INOX, Air India, Indigo, Flipkart, Pine Labs, Hyderabad Metro, Kochi Metro, VRL Travels, Abhibus, Dominos, Shoppers Stop, and many others, with more partners to be added in the months to follow.Here’s a summary of all the functionalities for which you may use Google Wallet:
- Movie or event tickets: Google Wallet can be used to add and store movies and event tickets for convenient access at the time of need.
- Flight boarding passes: This wallet can also be used to add flight boarding passes. However, specifically for Google Pixel smartphones, individuals can add their boarding pass to their wallet by taking a screenshot and tapping the “Add to Google Wallet.” button.
- Brand loyalty or gift cards: Digital copies of loyalty and gift cards of various brands can be stored in this wallet.
- Public transit tickets: Metro and bus tickets can also be stored in this wallet.
- Corporate badge: This wallet can also store select corporate identity cards and access and show them as per requirement.
- Digitalisation of physical documents: Create new passes in this Wallet from any image containing a barcode or QR code, like airline boarding passes, luggage tags, or parking receipts.
- Gmail-specific features: after booking a movie ticket, IPL ticket, or train ticket, the event confirmation sent to a person’s Gmail account will automatically appear in their Google Wallet, if they have smart personalization settings in Gmail turned on.
“Android and Apple wallet are apps that let users store their credit cards, debit cards, loyalty cards, and other digital cards on their phones. They also enable users to make contactless payments with their phones using NFC (Near Field Communication) technology. Some cars that have smart key systems can be paired with these wallet(s), so that users can access and operate the car with their phones instead of using a physical key fob,” says Pradeep Janardanan, director of a foreign bank in Bengaluru.
How to use Google Wallet in India?
If you are using an Android device running on Android version 7.0, then go to Play Store, search for ‘Google Wallet’ and download it. Once downloaded, follow the below-mentioned steps:Step 1: If you are already logged into your Google account, you don’t need any more details to log in to the Google Wallet app. It will take directly take you to the ‘Add Items’ page. On this page, there will be an ‘Add to Wallet’ button. You need to click on it. Once you click on it, you will see a list of items that you can add. As of May 8, 2024, there are four categories: Photo, Loyalty, Gift Card, and Transport pass.
Step 2: You can select any category. Here we have taken the example of ‘Transport Pass’. Once you click on the ‘Transport Pass’ option, a new list of options will pop up on your screen. Here we have taken the example of Kochi Metro. Once you click on the Kochi Metro option inside the Google Wallet app, you will be redirected to the Kochi Metro website, where you will be asked to log in using your Google account, and then only you may add the metro ticket to Google Wallet.
Difference between Google Wallet and Google Pay
Google Wallet app does not have payment-related features while Google Pay is used predominantly for various payments. Google says in a press release, “Google Wallet complements Google Pay, which will continue to serve the payment needs of users across India. Google Pay continues to be the app for all payment needs,” said Google in the press release.”
Google Wallet can also store your digital car keys
Google Wallet supports ‘digital car keys’ and at present they have partnered with BMW for this, however, the model of the cars that support this feature could not be known immediately. As per Google’s support blog about digital car keys, it works only with select cars and that too with select phones and there are three ways to use it.
“To use this feature, users need to add their car keys to their Android wallet app, and then hold their phone close to the car door handle or the dashboard to activate the car. The phone will communicate with the car through NFC or Bluetooth, and authenticate the user with the phone’s biometric (face or fingerprint scan), or a passcode. This way, users can conveniently get in and drive their cars without needing a separate key,” says Sheetal R Bhardwaj, head of compliance for a Dubai, UAE based bank.