Google Pay rolls out 'tap to pay' feature; Check which Banks follow the suit

On Monday, Google Pay in partnership with Visa and banking partners rolled out tokenisation across its platform that allows users to make the transactions with their cards safely. The tap-to-pay feature can be used on near-field communication (NFC)-enabled point of sale (POS) terminals and online merchants.

This feature is now available for Axis and SBI Card users, with Kotak and more banks are expected to follow suit very soon.

With tokenisation, Google Pay Android users can make use of the debit card or credit card to make payments via a secure digital token attached to their phone without physically sharing the details of credit/ debit card.

"We are hopeful that the tokenisation feature will further encourage users to transact securely and safely in the current times, and expand merchant transactions both online and offline," said Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head: Google Pay and NBU-India.

The feature also works out with e-merchants, delivering more native and seamless OTP experiences without any redirections to 3D Secure sites.

With tokenisation, Google Pay will enable NFC-capable Android devices to make contactless payments for more than 2.5 million Visa merchant locations.

It will help the users to scan and pay at more than 1.5 million Bharat QR enabled merchants, and the customers can also pay bills and recharges from within their Google Pay app making use of their cards.

"Visa recently crossed over 1 billion token credentials globally, and with Google Pay live in India, we expect these numbers to rise significantly. We are excited to partner with Google to further accelerate digital payment innovations in times to come for the Indian market and beyond," said TR Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, Visa, India & South Asia.

To make use of the tap and pay feature using the smartphone phone, users need to do a one-time set up by entering their card details and entering the OTP they receive from the bank to add the card to the Google Pay app.

The company said, once the registration is done, the feature can be used to make payments at NFC-enabled terminals.

"We are already live for Axis and SBI Cardholders with Visa payments network and are working closely with Kotak and other banking partners to further expand the adoption of card-based payments with tokenisation in India," Sivanandan further added.