Google Pay users will soon be able to send money from within the main app, store things like tickets and boarding passes for redemption, and use a convenient web interface to manage their accounts. The money sending abilities come from a merging of the Google Pay app and its Google Pay Send sibling app. All of these changes are already beginning to roll out to select Google Pay users, and all users should be seeing them within the next few weeks. It’s worth noting that the merging of Google Pay and Google Pay Send functionality will only be applicable in the US for now, with support in the UK coming soon.
The money sending and requesting features will be integrated right into the main sections of the Google Pay app. You’ll get reminders about friends’ requests for money in the main screen, along with a running log of your sending and receiving activity. If you go to the transaction area, you’ll find you can split transactions by requesting money from friends. Storage of boarding passes and related stubs can be accessed on a separate screen, and shows a QR code that can be scanned to validate your entry. The web interface, finally, lets you view your transactions, send and request money, manage subscriptions and payment methods, and change your basic information and settings.
Android Pay has come a long way since its rebranding to Google Pay, mainly in the avenues of ease of use and a more comprehensive feature set. The app has also begun being accepted at a much larger selection of businesses recently, and a wide range of banks and credit unions have also been hopping on board. Google Pay can rival Apple Pay at this point in every department except wide acceptance, though that metric is dominated by Samsung anyway, since Samsung Pay sports magnetic secure transmission (MST) support that allows the app to work almost anywhere a debit card would. Since the feature requires special hardware and Samsung bought up a major supplier of that technology in order to make Samsung Pay happen, don’t expect to see MST support in any other mobile payment app, any time soon.
