Google clarifies its Wallet app is yet to launch in India

Google has confirmed that the Wallet app is not yet launched in India. However, some users can download the same from the Google Play Store in the country.

The Google Wallet app enables users to make contactless payments using debit and credit cards by tokenising and storing them securely, which replaces an actual number of the card with unique codes or simply creates a virtual card.

Besides, Google Wallet also acts as a digital wallet app, which can store gift cards, gym memberships, event tickets, flight tickets, and more.

Google Wallet is a different app from Google Pay in India. Unlike Google Pay, which offers UPI payment services, Google Wallet is limited to making contactless payments using credit/debit cards.

On top of that, Google Wallet will only work on smartphones with near-field communication (NFC) support.

According to a report by sources, Google will continue to offer both Google Pay and Google Wallet apps in India, catering to different sets of users.

Users with eligible WearOS-powered smartwatches can also download the Wallet app on their smartwatch to make contactless payments directly from the watch.

Select Android smartphone users can now download the Google Wallet app from the Play Store and add their cards along with passes.

The app also has an option that allows users to add passes automatically from Gmail, and one can also enable biometric verification to authenticate every payment.

Before the official release, several users on X reported that Google Wallet was functional even when sideloaded. If you are a Samsung user, you can also get similar functionality from the Samsung Wallet app.