Update | 7-Eleven, McDonald’s, Circle K ... Google launches Android Pay at 5,000 Hong Kong locations
Google launches ‘simple and secure’ mobile payment system, seeking to close ground with WeChat Wallet and Apple Pay which launched in Hong Kong earlier this year
Google has launched its mobile payments system Android Pay in Hong Kong, allowing Android users to make contactless payments in-store as it pits itself against Apple Pay and Tencent’s WeChat Wallet in the city.
Smartphone users whose handsets are enabled with near-field communication (NFC) technology and runs the Android operating system version KitKat 4.4 or higher will be able to download the Android Pay app and pay for purchases at more than 5,000 locations in Hong Kong, according to Google.
“Android Pay makes mobile payment as simple and secure as possible,” said Pali Bhat, global head of payments products at Google. “Just wake your phone, hold it to the contactless payment terminal, and your payment is done.”
Users with Mastercard or Visa credit cards from six banks in the city – HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, Standard Chartered, Dah Sing Bank, DBS and the Bank of East Asia – will be able to link their cards to Android Pay, and make payments at a variety of shops, including convenience stores 7-Eleven and Circle K, as well as fast-food restaurants, such as McDonald’s and Pacific Coffee.
Google’s move follows that of Apple, which rolled out Apple Pay for iPhone and Apple Watch in July. Tencent Holdings' WeChat Wallet, a built-in mobile wallet in popular mobile messaging app WeChat, also landed in Hong Kong in January, allowing Hongkongers to link their credit cards to the wallet and pay for air tickets within the app, or even send money to friends.
