Google has a long history of killing and rebranding services, and their payment offerings are no exception. In a move to simplify the company’s product lineup, Google has announced that it will be sunsetting the dedicated Google Pay app in the US early this summer.
Google launched the dedicated Google Pay app back in 2018, replacing Android Pay and reinventing itself as a unified payment service where you could see your recent purchases, find nearby stores, access rewards, complete peer-to-peer payments, and store a variety of payment and loyalty cards. This app was later split into Google Pay (for rewards and peer-to-peer transactions) and Google Wallet (for storing payment cards and passes).
Now, Google appears to be reversing course by once again combining them — to an extent. The Google Pay (GPay) app will be shutting down in the United States effective June 4, 2024. This change reinforces the repositioning of Google Wallet as the primary payment option for US users. while Google Pay will still be available in limited markets like India, where Google Wallet remains unavailable.
What This Means for You
Google wants to make this transition as smooth as possible , therefore it has begun to advise its Google Pay users that they can still view and transfer any remaining app balance to their bank accounts up until the shutdown date. After that date, users will still have a chance to access their funds by using the web version of Google Pay.
Google Wallet will remain users’ main option for mobile payments in the US. Store credit/debit cards for tap-to-pay, managing loyalty programs, passes, tickets, digital car keys, and government IDs (where supported) will continue to be managed through the Google Wallet app which can be downloaded from Google Play.
Peer-to-Peer payments, however, appear to be a feature that will no longer be supported at all after June 4th. Unlike the other features previously mentioned, Google doesn’t make any mention of a transition plan for it, nor has it announced plans to bring this functionality to Google Wallet.
Google says that the Google Wallet app is used give times more often than the Google Pay app in the U.S. Considering this stat, it makes sense that the company has made this decision to streamline payment services. Additionally, having Google Pay as a separate app was a source of confusion for many users that weren’t sure why two different (yet similar) apps existed for payments. Hopefully, this change can alleviate that problem.
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