Google Pay launched in the UAE on Wednesday, according to a press release from the company. Android-based smartphone owners can use the feature to purchase items in stores that supports contactless payments and in certain apps, including Google Play. The payment system requires Android Lollipop version 5.0 or higher.
If a phone is lost or stolen, Google Pay can be deactived remotely by the owner. There is no need to deactivate the card, since the card details are not stored.
Google Pay works similarly to other digital wallets, such as Apple Pay, WePay and SamsungPay, that have become available in the UAE over the past couple of years. Purchases made in a store require the user to just touch their phone to the terminal; purchases above Dh300 will require a pincode. To see up Google Pay, users enter their credit card details into their phones, which are them verified by their banks. However, the credit card number is not stored on the phones. Purchases made with the smartphone use a virtual card number called a token, which is device-specific. If a phone is lost or stolen, Google Pay can be deactived remotely by the owner. There is no need to deactivate the card, since the care details are not stored on the device.
Google Pay works with Emirates Islamic, Emirates NBD, Mashreq and Standard Chartered. RAKBANK is expected to start working with Google Pay soon.
