Google Pay Folds Into Google Wallet, Indicative of Consolidation, Innovation in Payments
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From Eric Baskerville, Elkordy Global Strategies
Google is set to sundown Google Pay, porting its core features to Google Wallet. An anticipated move as Wallet stands as the tech Kraken’s single-point-of-contact payment system that has come to define the payments industry post-pandemic. Wallet has the added benefit of actually functioning as a wallet would, storing gift cards, as well as transit and airline tickets. And while a minor bit of tech news, Pay folding into Wallet is exemplary of what’s in store for the payments industry in 2024: consolidation and innovation.
Consider that Google is keeping Pay alive in Singapore and India because it just rolled out a key product last week–a merchant’s SoundPodmade to rival similar tech in the same market. Mastercard, Block, and Stripe are all moving to integrate AI into their systems, and Capitol One is set to buy Discover. As one writer notes, both ApplePay and Google Pay have been around for a while, but the post-pandemic reality has driven tap-to-pay adoption, and companies are now looking at payment through wearable devices, biometrics, and blockchain–dubbing it a ‘digital wallet renaissance’.
Payments expert Phil Levy is available to discuss what’s in store for the industry in 2024? He can discuss how digital wallets are evolving, and the general headwind of consolidation and innovation in online payments. Mr. Levy is the CEO of Exact Payments; he has been featured in VentureBeat and Trade Finance Global. He can discuss:
- How the battle for control over embedded payments highlights the intensifying competition between Big Tech and traditional financial institutions.
- About the trends and dynamics surrounding embedded finance innovation and the roles of PayFacs, ISVs, and marketplaces in this ecosystem.
- Why the surge in adoption reflects a fundamental shift towards seamless transactions and efficient financial management.
Anyone interested contact Eric Baskerville, Elkordy Global Strategies at [email protected]
