Google Wallet and Android Pay are finally united under one brand
Google Pay gives you one simple name to wrap your head around.
Google's payment strategy has been more than a little confusing. It originally offered tap-to-pay under the Google Wallet badge, but it moved that functionality to Android Pay while turning Google Wallet into a money transfer service. Thankfully, Google knows it's a mess and is cleaning things up. The search giant is uniting all its payment efforts under a singular Google Pay brand. Whether you're tapping your phone at the cashier, buying a gift on the web or paying a friend for last night's pizza, you'll see the same name.
You'll already see the new branding through Airbnb, Dice, Fandango, HungryHouse, Instacart and other services. Don't be surprised if other services quickly follow suit.
In many ways, not much has changed. For now, at least, this isn't a functional change. However, it was arguably due for a while. Whether or not you minded the Google Wallet/Android Pay split, it created an arbitrary division. In contrast, Apple Pay and Apple Pay Cash are treated as two sides of the same coin -- they might work differently, but they share something in common. Google Pay may help by giving people an easier-to-understand concept.
