In order to make it simple for customers to save and simply and securely access their credit cards, loyalty cards, and boarding passes, Google Wallet is currently accessible in South Africa, the product's first African market.
FirstRand Bank, Discovery Bank, Investec, Standard Bank, ABSA, and Nedbank cardholders in South Africa can now add their information to the wallet and conduct contactless payments using their Android phones and Wear OS gadgets, according to Google.
In the future, as Google moves forward with plans to replace traditional wallets and keep up with the demand for rapid digitization — a response to the COVID pandemic — the list of objects that can be added to the wallet is anticipated to grow.
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"Millions of people use their mobile devices daily to tap and pay at stores, pay for public transportation, and use a variety of passes, making access to technology essential for economic development. At Google, we've discovered that when technology is accessible to anyone, amazing things can happen. We want to make digital wallets available to everyone by including everyone - a dynamic ecosystem of producers, developers, and users - through rapid, secure access to their daily necessities, said Alistair Mokoena, country director for Google South Africa.
Mokoena stated that for safer transactions, the wallet ensures security and privacy.
"Security and privacy are incorporated into every aspect of Google Wallet, making payments safer and enabling frictionless, secure transactions all day long. Users will be able to do this to make purchases utilizing a virtual card number (a token). The introduction of Google Wallet in South Africa has us quite excited. We hope that users will appreciate how simple it is to use as well as how safe it is so they can conduct business with confidence," he said.
Along with the launches in Iceland, Moldova, Qatar, Serbia, Azerbaijan, and South Africa, Google announced the opening of the product in 45 nations.
More than a year after Apple Pay debuted in South Africa, Google Wallet also made its debut there.
