Google Wallet vs GPay: A guide for users

Google Wallet made its debut in India last week as Google expanded its suite of apps tailored for one of its most valuable markets. The new app allows users to store private documents, movie tickets, loyalty cards, metro and bus tickets, and boarding passes. The India launch of Google Wallet took place years after its American debut, but the new version differs from its US counterpart. Google said Google Wallet will complement the Google Pay (GPay) experience in India, meaning both apps will co-exist and offer different services to users. But how different are they? Also Read: No PIN Needed: Google Pay, Paytm, And PhonePe Users Can Pay Using Fingerprint Or Face Scan

Google Wallet vs Google Pay

Google Wallet can only store digital documents in India. Customers can save documents such as loyalty cards, movie tickets, gym memberships, metro, bus, train, boarding passes, and event tickets. On the other hand, GPay cannot store these documents. Also Read: New UPI Rules Roll Out Today: Here's What You Can And Can't Do Now On Google Pay, Paytm, PhonePe

Also Read: New UPI Rules From August 1: Daily Limits, Fixed AutoPay Timings And More - All That's Changing

Google Pay, or GPay, is Google’s online payments app in India. Launched as Google Tez in 2017, Google Pay is based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to allow peer-to-peer payments. The app supports payments to mobile numbers, UPI IDs, Aadhaar-based payment options, and QR codes. Google Pay recently introduced the facility to make payments to online and offline merchants using RuPay and Visa credit cards. On the other hand, Google Wallet does not support payments.

Google Wallet will work similarly to Apple Wallet, which highlights relevant tickets or cards when a user is in the venue’s proximity. GPay has no such facility.

How to use Google Wallet

To use Google Wallet, a user needs to download it first. Google Wallet is available only on Android and compatible with all brands. The user can head to the Google Play Store, look for “Google Wallet,” and download the app. Google Wallet will require signing in using a Google account. The app also requires some device permissions that the user needs to attend. Google Wallet app can automatically scan Gmail associated with the Google account to fetch tickets, boarding passes, loyalty cards, and other documents sent by partner brands, such as Flipkart, PVR Inox, IndiGo, Air India, MakeMyTrip, and Pine Labs.