Google Wallet will finally launch in India — nearly two years after relaunching as a digital wallet platform in the US — according to a preview of the app that the company accidentally was posted in the country’s Google Play store.
After TechCrunch spotted the listing for the app — which will allow users to load loyalty cards and buy things, among other features — the company declined to confirm that it would be coming to Android users anytime soon. But then it appears to pull some of the details from the listing, such as what appear to be high-profile local launch partners in India. (The app now features more generic US trademarks.)
Somewhat confusingly, Google has confirmed to us that it will continue to run Google Pay as a standalone app in the country, at least for now. This is a different strategy than almost every other marketplace, where Google merges the Wallet and Pay experiences together into a single Wallet app.
“While we don’t have anything new to share right now, we’re always working to bring more convenience to people’s digital experiences in India. We continue to invest in the Google Pay app to provide users with easy, secure access to digital payments,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to TechCrunch.
We understand that part of the reason seems to be that Google Pay is already huge in the country — it’s widely understood that India is Google’s biggest market globally for payments and is the second largest payment app after PhonePe.
Because Google has confirmed its plans to continue offering Google Pay as a payment service in India, the Indian version of Google Wallet is expected to differ from the US version. First, Google wants to provide localized integrations to the Wallet app in the country that houses the largest Android user base.
The Google Wallet listing spotted by TechCrunch last week included screenshots of Indian airline Air India, State Bank of India and multiplex chain PVR Inox, indicating that rewards points can be collected and redeemed through these brands. (Shortly after TechCrunch contacted Google for comment, Google updated the listing with US brands.)
Image Credits: Google Play Store screenshots
The existing The Google Wallet app is not yet available for download through the Play Store in India, but it has been working for some Android users in the country for quite some time now, as mentionted from Indian store Beebom. However, functionality is limited: users can add credit and debit cards for contactless payments, but the app does not support any Indian businesses and local loyalty programs.
These latest changes limit the amount of hopping that Google has done between various financial services and different branded apps. Google Wallet was launched as the company’s payment solution in 2011. Google then launched Android Pay. It then tried to replace the Wallet and Android Pay app with Google Pay. In 2022, Google relaunched the Wallet app as a digital wallet platform for Android, Wear OS, and Fitbit OS. However, in February this year, the search giant announced that it would replace Google Pay with its Wallet app in the US
Unlike its US version, Google Pay in India uses the Indian government-backed Unified Payments Interface (UPI) framework to enable payments. That’s one reason why Google Pay is different in India, and one reason why it may choose to continue giving users a separate option if they’re already using it.
Google Pay is the second most used UPI app in India after Walmart’s PhonePe, giving Google an obvious reason to continue supporting it while offering digital wallet experiences through the Wallet app. Google Pay launched more than 5 billion transactions worth more than $83 billion in March, year-over-year data published by UPI parent organization National Payments Corporation of India.
