Google officially launched its Google Pay mobile payment service in Romania on Tuesday, November 17. Google Pay is a free digital wallet compatible with Android devices equipped with NFC, enabling simple, secure, and fast payments in physical stores and online.

The service is not available directly but can be accessed through partner financial institutions' "wallet" applications.

For now, the Google Pay service is available in the mobile applications of ING Bank, UniCredit Bank, Banca Transilvania, Alpha Bank, and CEC Bank, and through Revolut, Transferwise, Curve, Viva Wallet, and Orange Money. The technical solution is called "Google Pay as a service" and allows card issuers to integrate Google Pay in their mobile payment apps.

The users must go to the payment applications of these institutions and enroll their cards (Visa or Mastercard) there before they can use Google Pay for contactless payments by phone in local stores or online. 

Apple Pay, a similar service from Apple for iOS devices, became available in Romania in June 2019.

editor@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: ID 163883612 © Piotr Adamowicz | Dreamstime.com)