• ðŸ“… August 28, 2022
Google Wallet
Credit: Google


Google Wallet has made it's move to begin operations in South Africa, it is the first market to feature the fintech service in Africa. Google wallet will make e-payments much more seamless to transact online, while enabling consumers to save and access their loyalty cards, boarding passes and payment cards.

Cardholders of partner banks in South Africa inclusive of; Nedbank, FirstRand Bank, Investec, Standard Bank, ABSA and Discovery Bank, can currently add their details on the wallet, and make contactless payments with Android phones and Wear OS devices.

Google says the array of items that can be included in the wallet will be increased as time progresses. This it says will deepen digitisation, and spearhead it's drive to do away with physical wallets.

“Access to technology is vital for economic prosperity as millions of people use their mobile devices daily to tap and pay at stores, pay for public transportation and to utilize a variety of passes. At Google, we have learned that great things happen when technology works for everyone. By including everyone – a dynamic ecosystem of manufacturers, developers and users – we want to make digital wallets accessible to everyone through fast, secure access to their everyday essentials,” said Google South Africa Country Director Alistair Mokoena in a statement.

“Security and privacy are built into every part of Google Wallet, making payments safer and allowing people to transact seamlessly and with confidence throughout the day. This will allow users to make transactions using a virtual card number (a token). We are very excited about the launch of Google Wallet in South Africa. We hope that people not only enjoy how easy it is to use, but also how secure it is for them to transact their business confidently,” he continued.

Google wallet plays catch up as it makes it's debut in South Africa. This occurs a whole year and five months after Apple Pay did so.

Google announced the launch event in South Africa. It also listed other scheduled locations as; Moldova, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Iceland and Qatar.