It’s the perfect time between the two Easter holidays (Orthodox Easter is this Sunday!) to announce that Google Wallet has (probably) raised. According to well-known code sniffer Mishaal Rahman, Google Wallet is (probably) returns to Android. But you never know with this company.
April 18, Rahman tweeted a series of screenshots showing the new Wallet interface in Google Play Services. The images indicate that the Wallet moniker is back, complete with a new icon showing what looks like the type of wallet clip you would keep in your back pocket. (I hate to say it looks like the Apple Wallet icon, but in Google’s primary colors.) The new icon leaked last week when Google updated its Workspace assets.
The Wallet interface looks more customized to spread your debit and credit cards and everything in between instead of managing your payment history and banking transactions, as Google Pay does now. The screens also show a similar list of membership and loyalty cards, transit cards and airline tickets. However, you can access all of these now via the Google Pay payment screen after entering your security information.
It seems that this is just a look at a newly organized interface rather than a completely different service, since Google has done so much work over the last few years consolidate wallet-like capabilities of what is now known as Google Pay.
But it’s still a little confusing to see these pictures come through. As a longtime user of Google’s apps and services, it often looks like the company will make one big assignment about introducing new features and then changing course seemingly at hand. I hope these Wallet screenshots are not a hint of something completely new on the horizon, as I have already migrated all accounts and memberships to Google Pay as my primary way of paying with a smartphone.
It’s a wonder if Google will reintroduce Wallet, as it has never existed before, given that what it was on Android before the rebrand in 2020. (Although there was also stint when it was Android Pay? It’s changed its name so many times over the short life of Android.) In any case, it would be nice not to go into constant confusion about how to make contactless payments from my Android device so I do not give up and return to Samsung Pay from here and out.