Google has decided to phase out its standalone payments app, GPay, in the US starting June 4. This change means that the app will no longer be available on the Google Play Store or work on existing devices, marking the end of the peer-to-peer payment facility in the US. Users in the US were automatically signed out of the app, and upon trying to log back in, they received a message directing them to use the Google Wallet app for tap-to-pay transactions.
Despite the discontinuation of GPay in the US, the app will still be available to users in India and Singapore. Google plans to continue tailoring the service to meet the specific needs of these markets. The tech giant is focusing on unifying mobile payment services under the Google Wallet app, allowing users to manage their payment methods, make in-store tap-to-pay transactions, and pay online directly through the app. Google is investing in enhancing payment experiences, such as improving Google Pay autofill in Chrome, expanding the types of stored passes in Wallet, and facilitating public transit payments, with more improvements planned for the future.
The revamped Google Pay, introduced in 2020, aimed to simplify financial transactions, enhance security, and provide useful features to users. Although there were initial plans for a “mobile-first bank account,” these plans did not come to fruition. Google’s decision to prioritize Google Wallet over GPay signals a shift towards digitizing the contents of a physical wallet while still using “Google Pay” as the term for making purchases with a phone, both in-store and online.
