Google Pay is officially here

Android Pay becomes Google Pay BI Intelligence

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Google Pay — the tech giant’s attempt to consolidate all of its payment offerings — is officially here, following an announcement in January and a pilot with several merchants.

The launch will begin with two major changes: Android Pay will be rebranded to Google Pay this week, and the app will be refreshed with a new look and some new features. In addition, Google Wallet, Google’s peer-to-peer (P2P) payment offering, will be renamed Google Pay Send, and will also get an app refresh — though it’ll be integrated into the main Google Pay soon. Next, Google will continue to build a cohesive cross-channel payment experience, which could help the firm improve engagement with its payment offerings by addressing pain points to adoption.

Google Pay streamlines enrollment. Right now, just 11% of eligible customers have tried Android Pay — the lowest rate of the three major phone-based services. Google Pay could help improve that standing by streamlining onboarding.

Customers at specific banking partners, like Bank of America, will be able to enroll in Google Pay directly through their mobile banking apps, and can begin using it without having to download a new app, according to TechCrunch. And in the future, customers will be able to automatically access cards they’ve already loaded into Chrome, which could bring more users to the service by limiting friction associated with smaller screens and challenges inputting information into mobile devices.

And if the app redesign can overcome consumer confusion, it could entice usage and grow adoption.

The new Google Pay seems to make for a simpler user experience. A refreshed home screen for the app still shows purchasing history, but also highlights offers and issues personalized recommendations about nearby stores that accept Google Pay. A second “cards” tab shows credit and debit cards, loyalty and gift cards, and offers, reflecting a user's available payment options.
That could improve engagement and boost the wallet’s standing. In addition to low adoption, Android Pay also has engagement below its peers — nearly three-quarters of enrollees have used the wallet just once or do so inconsistently, and only 10% use it whenever possible. Leveraging a rebrand as an opportunity to combat pain points to engagement — like uncertainty about merchant acceptance, lack of incentives, or forgetfulness — could set Google Pay up for a rosier future, especially with more integrations, like P2P and cross-device options, on the horizon. That, in turn, could improve overall engagement with Google’s payments tools, rather than those of competitors, while also touching a broad enough audience to help normalize mobile payments and move the industry forward.

BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has written a detailed report on mobile payments that:

Sizes the US in-store mobile payments market and examines growth drivers.
Analyzes headwinds that have suppressed adoption.
Identifies three strategic changes providers can make to improve their results.
Evaluates pockets of success in the market.
Provides actionable insights that providers can implement to improve results.

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