Card issuers can instantly and freely support their cards’ use in Google Wallet

In the weeks since we released a new version of the Google Wallet app that supports all credit and debit cards, usage has more than doubled. Consumers have immediately grasped the benefit of being able to use any card when shopping in-store and online.

What’s less visible is how our new approach benefits our valued banking partners. We have always pledged that Google Wallet would be open to all card issuers at no cost. And by moving Google Wallet to the cloud, we have greatly simplified the way that card issuers integrate with it. Issuers no longer need to connect their systems directly to ours. We have completely eliminated the cost and complexity for issuers to offer their customers their cards in a mobile wallet. What was previously an effort that could take many months, cost millions, and require complex orchestration among many parties has been reduced to a few simple steps.

Even though direct integration is no longer a prerequisite for having your banks’ cards in Google Wallet, we encourage issuing banks to take some steps to give their customers great experiences with the wallet.

1. Provide us with card art - our mobile wallet shows card art from issuing banks that have provided us with imagery. Card art is an important representation of your bank’s brand, and by adding your card art to Google Wallet, you help Wallet users recognize their cards.
   
   Barclaycard US, Green Dot, and Silicon Valley Bank are some of the first card issuers to provide us with card art. Reinforcing our commitment to all financial institutions, credit union partners of PSCU, a leading credit union service organization, can now easily work with Google Wallet by simply reaching out to their PSCU account executive. We are actively working with credit, debit, and prepaid card issuers of all sizes.
2. Implement our Save to Wallet API for Payment Cards - this API allows you to add a button to your website so that your customers can easily save their cards to Google Wallet in just a few clicks. Both Discover and Barclaycard US (via the L.L. Bean and US Airways co-branded Barclaycard US programs) have recently launched their implementations. Below are some screenshots of the Barclaycard US’ user flow — you can see that users never need to enter their card information into Google Wallet. Instead they save their card to Google Wallet by signing into their already familiar Google Account.

Step 1: sign into your Barclaycard US account and click the Google Wallet banner

Step 2: sign into your Google Account 

Step 3: your card is in your Google Wallet

If you’re a card issuer and would like to work with us to give your customers great experiences with Google Wallet, please contact us here.

Posted by Frank T. Young, Commerce Business Development Manager, Google Wallet

Use Google Wallet to optimize your mobile and online shopping sites

When shopping from a phone, using a credit card can be a painful way to pay. In fact, the typical purchase has 17-20 fields to fill and 7-10 clicks and scrolls, all on a small phone screen! For merchants, this time-consuming and error-prone process can be even more painful -- research shows that online shopping cart abandonment topped 75% in 2011, with abandonment on mobile even higher.

In order to ease the pain of online shopping for both shoppers and merchants, we’re introducing a new Google Wallet API that can improve the checkout process on both mobile and desktop sites in the following ways:

• Once shoppers log into Google Wallet, there is no need to enter a 16 digit credit card number or other payment information -- it is already securely stored in Google Wallet.
• Returning shoppers who have authorized Google Wallet as their payment method will not be redirected to Google pages, meaning the shopper never leaves the merchant’s website and future transactions are even faster.
• Shoppers can also use their Google accounts to login to merchant sites, so there’s no need to remember multiple logins and passwords.

For merchants, there are no additional charges for accepting Google Wallet. Since you continue to use your existing payment processor, implementation is fast and simple. We encourage interested merchants to start trying it out now. To get access to the Google Wallet API, please request contact from a Google representative via this form. We are releasing the API to approved partners, and we will review your information and contact you upon approval.

Platform partners such as Branding Brand and others are also starting to include Google Wallet as a part of the commerce services they provide. If you are working with one of these partners or are interested in learning more about their capabilities, please contact them directly.

There’s a lot more in store for Google Wallet, so stay tuned on our +Page.

Posted by Barak Turovsky, Head of Mobile Commerce, Google Wallet

Tips for smarter, more secure online shopping

As people in many parts of the world do the last of their back-to-school shopping and prepare for the holiday rush, we thought it was a good time to share a few recommendations for a safer online shopping experience.

Protect your Google Account
Whether you’re buying a bestseller on Google Play or tapping your Google Wallet-supported phone on an NFC terminal at your favorite coffee shop, it's important to understand that Google Wallet uses the security features of your Google Account to protect your credit cards. In other words, you need to guard your Google Account just like you would your physical wallet. If you leave your wallet lying around unprotected, somebody could steal it and make unauthorized purchases or worse. The same consequences could result if you don’t properly secure your Google Account. That's why we encourage everyone to create a strong password that you don’t use on other websites, enable 2-step verification on your account, and keep your account recovery information up to date.

If it looks too good to be true...
If you haven’t shopped from a particular merchant before, it’s worth taking a few minutes to do some research. For example, search for reviews from other buyers who have experience with the seller. Legitimate merchants should provide you with contact information that you can reference if you have any questions or problems with your transaction. Never wire money to a seller you haven’t reviewed very thoroughly and stay alert for phishing attempts, spoofed invoices, and “work from home” money scams that try to cheat you.

Only send information over secure connections
Look for the https:// in your address bar when transmitting any sensitive information like credit card or bank numbers. Your banking website may use additional methods to demonstrate their authenticity, and if so, keep an eye out for them to help avoid scams. Online threats are here to stay, but you can use the right tools to prepare yourself for when that one-day sale beckons or the holiday blowouts come calling. For more safe shopping tips, visit our Good to Know page here.

Posted by Angela Lai, VP Engineering, Google Wallet

An easy way to save your Discover Card to Google Wallet

A few weeks ago we released a cloud-based Google Wallet app that supports all credit and debit cards. The new version of the app provides access to the same set of payment cards when you’re shopping in-store as you would online with Google Wallet. Already we’ve seen a significant increase in signups and app usage as people have loaded all their cards into Google Wallet.

To make it even easier to save cards to Google Wallet, we’re working with credit and debit card issuers on a novel approach to adding cards to your wallet. Discover Card is the first issuer to launch an implementation of our new Save to Wallet API for Payment Cards.

To save your Discover Card to Google Wallet, just follow these short steps:

1. Visit discover.com/googlewallet and sign into your Discover account
2. Click “Add Your Card”
3. Sign into your Google Account

And that’s it! You don’t even need to look up your credit card number, let alone type it in.

Discover securely transmits all required information directly to Google Wallet. You can then select your Discover Card to be the primary method the Google Wallet app will use for in-store purchases, or when shopping online from Google Play or other merchants that accept Google Wallet. You’ll continue to earn rewards on every purchase you make. Discover has also provided Google Wallet with card imagery for the Discover More® Card, so you can easily identify your virtual Discover card in your mobile wallet.

So go ahead and save your Discover Card into your Google Wallet today. And if you haven’t yet tried our new Google Wallet app, it’s available now on compatible phones in the US.

Posted by Frank Young, Commerce Business Development Manager, Payments

Use any credit or debit card with Google Wallet

(cross-posted to Official Android Blog)

Since we released the first version of Google Wallet, the app that makes your phone your wallet, we’ve made it available on six phones from Sprint and Virgin Mobile, as well as the new Nexus 7 tablet. We’ve also partnered with more than 25 national retailers, and thanks to MasterCard PayPass, you can pay with your phone at more than 200,000 retail locations across the U.S.

Today we’re releasing a new, cloud-based version of the Google Wallet app that supports all credit and debit cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. Now, you can use any card when you shop in-store or online with Google Wallet. With the new version, you can also remotely disable your mobile wallet app from your Google Wallet account on the web.




A wallet with all your credit and debit cards
To save a card to Google Wallet, just enter the number into the mobile app, online wallet, or Google Play when making purchases. When you shop in-store, you can use Google Wallet in conjunction with your selected credit or debit card for purchases (more info here). Shortly after making a payment, you’ll see a transaction record on the phone with the merchant name and dollar amount. You can now view a history of all your in-store and online purchases from the online wallet.

To support all credit and debit cards, we changed our technical approach to storing payment cards. The Google Wallet app now stores your payment cards on highly secure Google servers, instead of in the secure storage area on your phone. A wallet ID (virtual card number) is stored in the secure storage area of the phone, and this is used to facilitate transactions at the point of sale. Google instantly charges your selected credit or debit card. This new approach speeds up the integration process for banks so they can add their cards to the Wallet app in just a few weeks. Banks that want to help their customers save cards to Google Wallet, including their custom card art, can apply here — there is no cost.

A wallet you can lock — and remotely disable
We take security very seriously and have always had a dedicated Google Wallet PIN to prevent others from making payments with your Google Wallet. And as always, we encourage Google Wallet customers to set up the phone’s screen lock -- as an extra layer of protection.

Today, we’re adding a Google Wallet security feature that makes it possible for you to remotely disable your mobile wallet on a lost phone. It’s easy. If you lose your phone, just visit the ‘Devices’ section in the online wallet and select the phone with the mobile wallet you wish to disable. When you successfully disable your wallet on a device, Google Wallet will not authorize any transactions attempted with that device*. If the Google Wallet online service can establish a connection to your device, it will remotely reset your mobile wallet, clearing it of card and transaction data. There is no way you can do that with your leather wallet.

The new Google Wallet app is available now on Google Play, and if you have a supported NFC device and are in the United States, we encourage you to give it a try.

Posted by Robin Dua, Head of Product Management, Google Wallet

* For now, Google Prepaid Cards and some Citi MasterCard cards will remain active until Google Wallet can remotely connect and reset your mobile wallet.


Quick tip: lot of questions about the need for Internet connectivity while using the Wallet app. You will need an Internet connection to enter a credit card; to change the selected payment card; and to see transaction details. However, you will not need an Internet connection to actually make a payment in-store if you have previously selected a card.

Google Wallet is taking you to the beach

If you’re in New York this weekend, join the Google Wallet team for a trip to the beach! On Saturday, July 14th, we’ll be paying for round-trip train tickets on NJ Transit from Penn Station to Long Branch (including the Long Branch Beach entrance fee). Before you hit the sand, you’ll get the chance to see Google Wallet in action and use it to get your NJ Transit tickets at Penn Station.

The specially-scheduled Google Wallet train leaves at 9:00 am sharp, and your ticket will allow you to return from Long Branch at any time on July 14th (check NJ Transit’s website for scheduled route times). There’s limited room on the train, so be sure to get to Penn Station early to check out Google Wallet and get your free ticket to the beach!

Posted by Jo Hainsworth, Product Marketing Manager, Google Wallet

Terms: Train tickets only available through a demo of Google Wallet. Ticket covers a round trip ticket from Penn Station to Long Branch and the entrance fee to Long Branch Beach. Departure is 9:00 am on Saturday, July 14th, on a specially scheduled Google Wallet train. Tickets are not redeemable or exchangeable. Limited supply of tickets are available.

Google Wallet now available on three new phones

Today the unlocked Galaxy Nexus went on sale on Google Play. This unlocked phone provides a pure Google experience offering access to the latest and greatest apps including Google Wallet. Check out the Google Mobile Blog for more information.

With the pre-installed Google Wallet app, you can easily make purchases and redeem offers with a tap of your phone. And when you set up your Google Prepaid Card, we'll also give you a $10 credit!

In addition to the unlocked device, we are also excited to announce that Google Wallet is available on three new phones from Sprint, including: Galaxy Nexus, LG Viper 4G LTE and LG Optimus Elite. Google Wallet will also be available on the LG Optimus Elite from Virgin Mobile.

Follow us on Google+ for the latest updates from the Google Wallet team!


Posted by Mark Andrews, Product Manager & Ryan Barnett, Technical Account Manager, Google Wallet

Follow Google Wallet on Google+

Looking for the latest on Google Wallet? Add the newly launched Google+ Page for Google Wallet to your circles to keep tabs on news and updates from the Google Wallet team.

We’ll be posting about industry news and events, the latest Google Wallet product updates, announcements from our partners, and details about exclusive offers for Google Wallet users.

We hope the Google+ Page for Google Wallet will be a fun and engaging community, full of people who are just as excited about the future of payments as we are. Join today and follow us as we continue on our journey to build a better wallet.

Posted by Ryan Pollock, Product Marketing Manager, Google Wallet

Google Wallet Customers Get Free LISTERINE® POCKETPAKS® With Purchases at Select Walgreens and Duane Reade Drugstores in New York City

Attention Manhattan Google Wallet customers! Until April 28th, if you use Google Wallet to make a purchase at select, participating Walgreens or Duane Reade stores in Manhattan you’ll also get a free LISTERINE® POCKETPAKS®, presented by Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc, while supplies last.*

More than 167 Walgreens and Duane Reade locations in New York City now accept Google Wallet -- making it even more quick and convenient to shop and save at your neighborhood drugstore.

To get this Google Wallet Featured Offer, simply open the “Offers” tab in the app, touch “Find Offers” and save the LISTERINE® POCKETPAKS® offer to your Google Wallet. And that’s it! The next time you tap to pay at a participating Walgreens or Duane Reade location, this offer will be automatically redeemed and you’ll be on your way to fresher breath!

Check back in May to see more Featured Offers from Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc for products available at Walgreens and Duane Reade stores in Manhattan.

In addition to Walgreens and Duane Reade, Google Wallet, available on select phones, is accepted at 150,000 merchant locations in the U.S. via the MasterCard PayPass network.

Posted by Peggy Mangot, Emerging Platform Manager

*This offer is only valid for redemption with Google Wallet via NFC while supplies last. Limited quantities available. Offer is good through April 28, 2012. Not valid on paper or on phones that don’t support Google Wallet. Single use only and non-transferable. Select stores located in Manhattan.

Google Acquires TxVia

Over the last year, we’ve been hard at work developing Google Wallet, a payment service that makes it possible for people to redeem discounts, earn loyalty points and pay—all at the same time, whether they’re shopping online or at the store around the corner.

Today, we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve acquired payments technology company TxVia to complement our payments capabilities and accelerate innovation towards our full Google Wallet vision. TxVia is a technology pioneer that offers a fast, flexible and highly reliable payments platform—which we believe is one of the best in the world.

Since 2008, TxVia has supported the management of more than 100 million accounts. They’ve partnered with the industry’s best known brands, and their leadership team has played an instrumental role in defining the fast-growing prepaid card segment of emerging payments. In this time, TxVia has also certified and directly connected to the major payment networks, which establishes a solid foundation for Google Wallet and our partners to drive innovation on a global scale and in a partner friendly way.

Finding and purchasing products is a big part of day-to-day life. At Google, we’re working to create new ways to improve the commerce experience. We’ve worked closely with TxVia over the last year, and they’re a forward-thinking team that will help us take the next steps in realizing the future of commerce. We welcome the TxVia team to Google.

Posted by Osama Bedier, Vice President of Wallet and Payments, Google

Get 10% off Pinkberry with Google Wallet ‘til April 30

Who doesn't love frozen yogurt? We certainly do and we’re happy to announce that Google Wallet is now accepted at 69 Pinkberry stores across the U.S. You can also use the Pinkberry Featured Offer in Google Wallet to get 10% off any one Pinkberry when you use your Google Wallet to pay. This offer is good for use at select stores until April 30, 2012.*

The popular yogurt retailer now accepts Google Wallet at select stores in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., so now you can buy delicious and refreshing frozen yogurt with your phone. Yum!

To celebrate our partnership with Pinkberry we’ll be holding a free tasting event at several Pinkberry stores in the Los Angeles area. Come by to try out Google Wallet on Tuesday, March 20 from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the following locations:

Santa Monica, 3rd Street Promenade
1456 3rd St
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: (310) 394-4982

Burbank
120 E Palm Ave
Burbank, CA 91502
Phone: (818) 841-1981

Our partner ecosystem continues to grow, so visit our website for up-to-date information on retailers that accept Google Wallet. Google Wallet is available on the Sprint Nexus S.

Posted by Peggy Mangot, Strategic Partnership Management

*This offer is only valid for redemption with Google Wallet via NFC. Not valid on paper or non Google Wallet phones. Single use only and non-transferable. Cannot be combined with other offers. Valid at participating locations in LA, SF, NYC, DC and CHI until April 30, 2012.

Protecting your payments with Google Wallet

Over the last few days we've received questions and concerns about issues related to the security of Google Wallet. People are asking if Google Wallet is safe enough for mobile phone payments. The simple answer to this question is yes. In fact, Google Wallet offers advantages over the plastic cards and folded wallets in use today.

First, Google Wallet is protected by a PIN — as well as the phone’s lock screen, if a user sets that option. But sometimes users choose to disable important security mechanisms in order to gain system-level “root” access to their phone; we strongly discourage doing so if you plan to use Google Wallet because the product is not supported on rooted phones. That’s why in most cases, rooting your phone will cause your Google Wallet data to be automatically wiped from the device.

Second, we also take concrete actions to help protect our users. For example, to address an issue that could have allowed unauthorized use of an existing prepaid card balance if someone recovered a lost phone without a screen lock, tonight we temporarily disabled provisioning of prepaid cards. We took this step as a precaution until we issue a permanent fix soon.

And just like with any other credit card, you can get support when you need it. We provide toll-free assistance in case you lose your phone or someone manages to make an unauthorized transaction.

Mobile payments are going to become more common in the coming years, and we will learn much more as we continue to develop Google Wallet. In the meantime, you can be confident that the digital wallet you carry provides defenses that plastic and leather simply don’t.

Update [February 14, 2012 / 8:30 pm PST]:

Yesterday afternoon, we restored the ability to issue new prepaid cards to the Wallet. In addition, we issued a fix that prevents an existing prepaid card from being re-provisioned to another user. While we’re not aware of any abuse of prepaid cards or the Wallet PIN resulting from these recent reports, we took this step as a precaution to ensure the security of our Wallet customers. If you are unable to access your previous prepaid card balance for any reason, please contact our toll-free support for assistance.

Posted by Osama Bedier, Vice President, Google Wallet and Payments