Google Wallet would return as a new application to manage payments

Google would be working on the return of Wallet, the payment management application that disappeared in 2018 when it merged with Android Pay to start Google Pay.

Well, this tool could soon return to the arena. At least that is inferred from the information released by former editor in chief of XDA Developers, Mishaal Rahman.

The specialist shared a screenshot of what will be the new Wallet icon. This information, which was collected by the specialized site 9to5Google shows what the interface of this service would look like.

As detailed in the information disseminated, the interface is called Wallet, and in it users can add both debit and credit cards as vouchers, gift cards, loyalty cards or tickets for public transport.

In line with this redesign, Rahman recalled in this Twitter thread that Google Commerce President Bill Ready reported in January that Google Pay would focus more “on being a comprehensive digital wallet” and that it would include “digital tickets, airline passes and vaccine passports.”

This new version of the paid application will be connected to the users' Gmail account, and its new icon will maintain the company's characteristic colors: red, yellow, green and blue.

The system would offer the same features as the classic Google Pay experience integrated into Play Services. The top of the Google Wallet app also has a dedicated place to display the default Google Pay contactless payment card.

The page also features a floating button called “Add to Wallet”, which makes it easy to register a new payment card, membership, gift card or account.

It should be recalled that in 2011, Google created Wallet to run as a contactless payment application that used near-field communication (NFC) technology. Wallet also functioned as a digital storage space to store the cards.

In 2018, the company combined Google Wallet with another payment system, Android Pay, to create a hybrid of both, which would be Google Pay. In fact, this system is currently used to manage digital wallets and make payments on applications and websites.

However, in some countries such as the U.S. In the US, Singapore and India, there is a different app, called GPay, that integrates a number of features, offers and peer-to-peer payments.

The downside of GPay is that it can only be installed on a single device at a time, unlike the previous Google Pay app; and to have the contactless payment feature on more than one device, the second device must use the old app.

Apple, for its part, also expanded its saving options recently in its Wallet: users of devices with iOS operating system can now save documents such as the Covid-19 vaccination certificate.

In turn, it began integrating personal IDs and driver's licenses into iOS 15.4 in the United States recently. Specifically, this option is available in the state of Arizona, although it will soon reach others such as Connecticut, Oklahoma and Utah.

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