A smartphone app from Google that enables users to pay for merchandise at retail outlets with their mobile phones. Launched in 2011 with support for MasterCard's PayPass system, Visa and Discover were added a year later. Google Wallet also supports loyalty and gift cards as well as payments between individuals via Gmail (see
p2p payments).
Near Field Communication Was a Prerequisite
Requiring an NFC-equipped Android phone to make a payment by placing it near a terminal, that prerequisite was dropped in 2013 when Google Wallet became available for non-NFC iPhones (Apple later added NFC). See
smartphone wallet and
NFC.
Google Wallet and Android Pay
In 2015, Google introduced the Android Pay mobile payment system built into Version 6 of the Android OS (Android M). In 2018, Google Wallet and Android Pay merged (see
Google Pay).