Google Wallet is now available in India

Google on Wednesday launched its digital wallet in India with local integration, almost two years after it relaunched the app as a digital wallet platform in the US

As TechCrunch reported last month, Google Wallet will run in India alongside the prevailing Google Pay app, which is able to remain the corporate’s payment app in the country. In February, Google replaced its Pay app with Wallet in the US.

“Google Pay isn’t going anywhere. Google Pay is our primary payment example,” Ram Papatla, CEO and director of engineering for India at Google, said at a press conference in New Delhi. “The wallet is specifically tailored to address non-payment use cases.”

Google Wallet will enable Android users in India to store and access boarding passes, gift cards, event tickets and loyalty cards. You can add all of it via a QR code, barcode or link shared in Gmail, or via the dedicated Add to Google Wallet button available in partner apps.

The app may also store public transport tickets and means that you can create passes from any image containing a barcode or QR code, equivalent to airline boarding passes, luggage tags or parking receipts.

Initially, Google Wallet will work with 20 brands including PVR Inox, Flipkart, Air India, MakeMyTrip, Pine Labs and Ixigo. It has also roped in local transport operators equivalent to Kochi Metro, Hyderabad Metro, VRL Travels and Abhibus. Additionally, the corporate has partnered with system integrators Wavelynx and Alert Enterprise to enable users to store and access corporate IDs.

According to the newest data from Counterpoint shared with TechCrunch, Android continues to dominate the smartphone market in India with a market share of 93%. In 2023, of the 152 million smartphones shipped to the country, 140 million were Android-based. The smartphone penetration rate this yr was 70%, up from 66% in 2021, in response to the research firm.

All this provides Google a solid reason to launch Wallet in India. However, it might face competition from Samsung Wallet, which the South Korean company offers as an all-in-one digital wallet and payments app. Apple also has a Wallet app for iPhone users in the country, although the app doesn’t have many local integrations. WhatsApp messenger also means that you can get virtual boarding passes and travel tickets from platforms like MakeMyTrip and state metro train operators.