Google Pay Brings Tap To Pay Feature: What Is It And How To Use It

Payments platform Google Pay on Wednesday launched Tap to Pay feature that brings the ability to seamlessly tap and Pay to UPI.

Google Pay Brings Tap To Pay Feature: What Is It And How To Use It

New Delhi: Payments platform Google Pay on Wednesday launched Tap to Pay feature that brings the ability to seamlessly tap and Pay to UPI. This is the first time the tap to pay functionality is available on a payments platform as it was only available for cards. Google Pay has launched the functionality in collaboration with Pine Labs.

To complete payment using this feature, a user will need to tap their phone on the POS terminal and authenticate the payment from their smartphone, using their UPI PIN, making the process virtually instantaneous, as compared to scanning a QR code or entering the UPI-linked mobile number.

"Fintech growth in India is writing the playbook for the world, first with enabling real-time payments with UPI, and further, by innovating with flows that make the transaction time virtually zero. Tap to Pay for UPI has profound implications for high traffic retail outlets, with queue management hassles poised to be greatly reduced, and taking digital payments at POS well beyond cards," Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head - Google Pay and Next Billion User initiatives, Google APAC, said in a statement.

The tap to pay feature will be available for any UPI user who wants to use their NFC-enabled Android smartphone to make transactions using any Pine Labs Android POS terminal across the country. This feature was piloted with Reliance Retail and will now be available at large merchants such as Future Retail and Starbucks.

“We are delighted to witness the popular Tap and Pay technology being pioneered for UPI. With the growing adoption of UPI, this first-of-its-kind functionality with Google Pay and Pine Labs will augment the customer experience and pave the way for a smarter and faster payment experience. Interoperability has always been a winning proposition for UPI, and this will be a step ahead in transforming the way real-time digital transactions are conducted especially in retail merchants," said Nalin Bansal, Chief of Corporate and Fintech Relationships and Key Initiatives, NPCI.