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Android Pay, Google’s mobile payments system, isn’t just for your local grocer anymore. On Tuesday, the company announced that you can now use Android Pay to buy goods and services within participating Android applications and games.
The race is on in the mobile payment space; smartphone-based purchases will cross the $100 billion mark by 2018, predicts eMarketer. Android Pay, which first launched in September, integrates with credit and debit cards from American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa, as well as loyalty cards and gift cards.
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Starting today, Android Pay will be shown as a payment option inside of popular apps such as Fancy, Lyft, HotelTonight, and Jack Threads. Limited-time promotions like $20 off when you pay with reservation app OpenTable, encourage buyers to start using Google’s payment system this way. Apps like ride-sharing service Lyft and food delivery service DoorDash are also dangling incentives. See the full list here.
Google has also released its platform, or API, to application developers interested in adding Android Pay as a payment option. The next few months could give way to more of your favorite apps or games building in Android Pay support to purchase virtual goods or real-world products.
Looking farther down the road, Google will bring Android Pay support to Australia in the first half of 2016, through banks ANZ and Westpac.
