Google to let users make in-app and online payments with any stored card and add P2P payments to digital assistant

Google Assistant
EXTRA FEATURES: Google’s new payment API will add a range of payment options to Google Assistant

Google has unveiled a new payment API that will allow customers to make payments through third-party mobile apps, websites and the company’s voice-based Google Assistant using “any credit or debit card stored in their Google account” from across a range of services including Android Pay, Google Play and Google Chrome. The API will also let customers use a stored card to complete transactions via a new peer-to-peer (P2P) payments feature that will be added to the digital assistant.

The Google Payment API — when integrated into a mobile app — will show a Pay with Google button at the bottom of the screen that presents the user with the last card they used to make a transaction alongside all of the other cards stored in their account including those added through Android Pay. They will then be able to choose which card they want to use to complete the payment.

When making a payment through Google Assistant, the user can place an order with a supporting business by speaking their request, completing the payment using one of their stored cards and authenticating the transaction with their fingerprint.

The P2P function will also enable users to send money to friends and family by speaking the amount they wish to send and completing the payment with one of the cards stored on their Google account.

Multiple options

“Users will have multiple Google payment options at their fingertips, like a credit or a debit card previously saved via Android Pay, a payment card used to transact on the Play Store or a form of payment stored via Chrome,” Google says in a blog post. “They’ll be able to use these saved payment options in third-party apps and mobile sites as well as on Google Assisant when they are on-the-go.

“Users can save time and headache by using credit and debit cards they’ve already saved to their Google Account whenever they see the option to pay with Google on supported apps or sites. For developers, this API is a significant innovation that can enable faster checkout, drive more conversions, increase sales and reduce abandoned carts — all with a simple integration.”

During a demonstration on stage at Google I/O 2017 this week, the company’s product management director for consumer payments Gerardo Capiel gave an example of how a customer could order and pay through Google Assistant with Panera Bread.

“The user simply says, I want to talk to Panera,” Capiel said. “They specify what they want to order — Panera might even suggest some drinks they might want to go with that order — and then the user is able to complete that transaction using the cards in their Google Account and authenticate with their fingerprint.”

Next steps

“We’re [also] adding P2P to the Assistant and it will leverage the debit cards in your Google account to send money to friends and others — we plan to soon onboard other P2P providers,” Capiel added.

Google rolled out Google Assistant to all phones running Android 7.0 Nougat and Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating systems in February 2017. Google Assistant had previously only been available on Google’s own Pixel brand phones.

Google will begin piloting the Google Payment API with a “number of leading merchants and apps” in the next few months. The company is also partnering with payment processors including Braintree, Stripe, Vantiv, ACI Worldwide, Adyen, First Data and Worldpay to roll out the function.

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