Google brings out the Wallet to hold your cards & tickets. Will it be replacing Google Pay?

In airports and malls when you are asked to show your Covid vaccine certificate, you show a photo of it on your phone, and that works. However, the same cannot happen for every other card you own. For instance, cards that authenticate your identity have to be carried physically in your purse, although if left on Google that may be a thing of the past.

At its recent I/O event, among many big announcements pertaining to Pixel products launch, Google also revealed that its Wallet is here to take over your physical purse, and has the potential to digitise items that have long dwelled in the bottom of your handbag, and in the chambers of your clutch bag. However, before we explain how that digitisation happens, let us tell you that Google Wallet will not be available in India, since Google Pay already has the lion’s share of the market and Indians are relying on it more with each passing day.

Wallet That Holds The Money
This is the least complicated feature of Google Wallet. You can store your credit or debit card in your Google Wallet, and use them at stores to pay through Google Pay and your transaction will be complete.

Digitising Tickets, Health Cards & More
If you are wondering how your ticket, health cards, drivers license gets into your digitized wallet here are the details: the Alphabet owned company has already partnered with hundreds of transit agencies, retailers, ticket providers, health agencies and airlines so they can create digital versions of their cards or tickets for Google Wallet.

A Google blog post explaining the functions of Google Wallet states that, “You can add a card or ticket directly to Wallet, or within the apps or sites of businesses we partner with, you’ll see an option to add it to Wallet. We’re working on adding more types of content for Wallet, too, like digital IDs, or office and hotel keys.”

It’s An Open Wallet
Currently the Google Wallet is open which means that any developer can use it, and work on it to upgrade it even further. Another interesting feature about this Wallet is that it will be available on budget phones too, and therefore can be used by many people. Users in Singapore and the United States will continue to have access to both Google Wallet and Pay, while in 39 other markets, Wallet will reportedly replace Google Pay.