Android Pay mobile payment platform now available in Canada

Android Pay Offers Canadians A New Option for Making Mobile Payments

06/03/2017 Comments Off on Android Pay Offers Canadians A New Option for Making Mobile Payments Android, Android Apps, Mobile News Like

Android Pay was finally made available to Canadians a few days ago which makes contactless NFC mobile payments quicker and easier than ever.

With more and more merchants now accepting the tap feature as a payment option in Canada, the arrival of Android Pay only seems fitting. Being that the Android-based payment platform was made available in the United States back in 2015, it took a little longer than most Canadians had hoped but regardless is still welcomed with open arms.

At the time of launching Google’s Android Pay payment platform in Canada the list of compatible Canadian banks and credit cards included Desjardins, President’s Choice Financial, CIBC, BMO, Scotia Bank, Banque Nationale, Canadian Tire Financial Services, ATB Financial, Visa, and MasterCard. Several in-store launch partners have also become early adapters at the launch of the service in Canada such as Jean Coutu, Freedom Mobile, McDonalds, Tim Hortons, Petro Canada, Sears, Pizza Pizza as well as numerous other businesses. More stores and banks are expected to be added over the next few months.

Support for Tangerine bank and American Express is not yet available but listed as “Coming Soon” on the official Android Pay website. According to the announcement of Android Pay made on Google Canada’s blog “Coming Soon” means later this summer. Other major banks including RBC and TD have opted out of Android Pay for the time being but may hop on board at some point in the future.

Surprisingly, retail giant Walmart Canada has yet to add NFC terminals to their stores so it’s not likely that you’ll be able to use Android Pay there any time soon but perhaps at some point down the road that will change.

In order to use Android Pay, all you need is a phone operating with Android 4.4 KitKat or above and that has built-in Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

Not only does Android Pay simplify the process of paying for goods and services for customers, Canadian merchants also love the fact that there are zero transaction fees when it comes to using the service. In comparison to competitors for example such as Apple Pay that charges a fee for every transaction, this is quite a notable feature.

Of course like any service or technology there is always room for improvement. For example, many people are hoping that Google eventually includes the option to add gift cards and loyalty cards to Android Pay. Fingers crossed!

Statistically in the United States, Android Pay is drawing in an average of 1.5 million new users each month. It’s not far fetched to say that such rapid adaption of the service will also occur in Canada. Google also plans on rolling out the mobile payment platform in other countries such as Spain and Brazil at some point this year.

You can download Android Pay now from Google Play.