FAQ

General

General

What is Google Wallet?: Google Wallet is a virtual wallet that securely stores your credit and debit cards, offers, and rewards cards. You can tap your phone to pay in-store using Google Wallet anywhere contactless payments are accepted. You can pay online by signing into your Google Wallet account.
Where can I use the Google Wallet app?: Currently, you can use Google Wallet in-store anywhere contactless payments are accepted, at over 200,000 merchants across the United States.
How much does it cost to use the Google Wallet app?: Google Wallet does not charge a fee to consumers to use Google Wallet in-store or online.
In what countries is the Google Wallet app available?: The Google Wallet app is available in the United States on certain eligible devices and carriers.

Payments

What payment cards can I add to Google Wallet?: Google Wallet allows you to store all major credit and signature debit cards from VISA®, MasterCard®, American Express®, and Discover®. If you’ve ever bought an app or song from Google Play, or if you’ve ever used Google Wallet online, these cards will also appear in the mobile app. Learn more.
Will I continue to earn loyalty or rewards benefits from my credit and debit cards?: You should continue to earn rewards points for purchases through your card issuer’s credit or debit card rewards program (such as gas, grocery, and restaurants purchases, and overall spending), if applicable. Certain benefits and rewards may not be applied when using Google Wallet, such as merchant specific rewards (e.g. double points at a specific merchant with a specific card). Applicability of rewards and other benefits (such as purchase protection or insurance) will be decided by your card issuers and not Google Wallet. Learn more.
How does the Google Wallet mobile app transmit payment details?: The Google Wallet mobile app uses Near Field Communication (NFC), a secure, wireless connection to transmit payment details to the merchant.
What are linked credit or debit cards?: When you activate your credit or debit cards in Google Wallet, they are linked to your Google Wallet account upon set up. Linked credit or debit card credentials are not locally stored on the phone, but rather stored online.
What happens when I pay using a linked credit or debit card?: When you setup credit or debit cards in the Google Wallet mobile app, you will be issued a virtual prepaid MasterCard card, by its partner Bancorp. When you pay in-store by tapping your phone, Google Wallet passes the virtual card to the merchant for payment, and charges your selected credit or debit card for the purchase. Your credit or debit cards are linked to your Google Wallet account, which in turn is connected to your virtual prepaid MasterCard card.
Are my linked credit and debit card numbers passed to the merchant?: No, only the virtual prepaid MasterCard card information is passed to the merchant. Please note that for some cards, such as the Google Prepaid and some Citi MasterCards, the card information is passed directly to the merchant.
Can I use any of my cards to pay with Google Wallet – even if they aren’t credit or debit cards?: At this time, you can pay with Google Wallet using any of your credit or debit cards. However, you cannot pay with any specialized cards, such as merchant-specific gift cards, Flexible Spending Account (FSA) cards, and other single-purpose cards.
How is paying in-store different than paying online?: When paying in-store by tapping your phone, Google Wallet passes the virtual prepaid MasterCard card to the merchant for payment, and then charges your selected credit or debit card for the original amount of the purchase. (For some users that pay in-store with a Citi MasterCard or the Google Prepaid card, these credentials are passed directly to the merchant.) When paying online, at merchants that accept Google Wallet, your selected credit or debit card is charged directly. For all transactions using Google Wallet (in-store and online), the Google Wallet Terms of Service will apply. For any payments occurring in-store using the Google Wallet mobile application, the Google Wallet Virtual Card Terms of Use will also apply, in addition to the terms and conditions of the issuer of the credit or debit card you selected for the transaction. For online transactions, the terms and conditions of your selected credit or debit card will apply.
Are there instances where paying with Google Wallet won’t work?: As mentioned, Google Wallet should work in stores wherever contactless payments are accepted. In certain instances, the contactless hardware at the merchant location may be old or mal-functioning, and may not work. Also, there are a few exceptions where Google Wallet may not work, depending on the merchant type, ticket size, or category of product sold. For instance, Google Wallet has a daily spending limit of $1,000. In any of these instances, if you get an error, simply pay using your regular credit or debit card. Finally, Google reserves the right to restrict use of the card at its discretion.
Will Google Wallet work with cards issued outside of the United States?: No. Google Wallet is currently available in the United States, and will not work with cards issued in any other country or currency.

Security and Privacy

What if my phone with Google Wallet is lost or stolen?: You can disable Google Wallet on your lost or stolen device, preventing payments using your linked credit or debit cards, by signing into the Google Wallet online management center or by calling customer service. If Google Wallet can connect to your device, it will remotely reset the application, clearing it of payment and transaction data. If you have a Google Prepaid Card or Citi MasterCard, you should also call the issuing banks of these cards to block your accounts.
Is it possible to remove all cards and data from the Google Wallet app on my phone?: Yes, you can reset Google Wallet and remove all payment credentials and transaction data via the Settings menu.
How does Google Wallet protect my payment credentials?: Google Wallet stores your credit and debit cards online on secure servers. Your Google Wallet device has a chip called the Secure Element that stores encrypted payment card information. Linked credit or debit card credentials are not stored on the Secure Element -- rather, the virtual prepaid MasterCard card created during setup is stored on the Secure Element, and Google Wallet does not pass credit or debit card credentials you store online to the merchant. Credentials for the Google Prepaid Card and some Citi MasterCard cards are stored on the Secure Element and passed directly to the merchant. The Secure Element is isolated from your phone’s main operating system and hardware. Additionally, because Google Wallet enforces a PIN, the only way to transmit payment credentials is if you first enter the PIN. Your phone’s screen must also be on.
What is the Secure Element and how secure is it?: The Secure Element has many features designed to protect the security of the data it stores. It’s separate from the phone’s main operating system and hardware, which enables encrypted protocols to enforce access control. Only authorized programs like Google Wallet can access the Secure Element to initiate a transaction. There are multiple levels of protection for data stored on the Secure Element and it is protected at the hardware level from snooping or tampering.
Could a malicious application access my credit card on the Secure Element?: Both the Android platform and the Secure Element are designed to prevent this from happening. Android enforces strict access policies so that malicious applications won’t have access to data stored by Google Wallet. Even Google Wallet itself has very limited access to the Secure Element, and cannot read or write data from its memory. There are multiple levels of protection for data stored on the Secure Element and it is protected at the hardware level from snooping or tampering.
If someone gets close to my phone, could they read sensitive data from my Google Wallet?: The NFC antenna in your phone is only activated when the screen is powered on, and even if the antenna is on and in proximity of a reader, payment credentials can only be transmitted from the Secure Element to a payment terminal after you have entered your Google Wallet PIN.
Am I liable for unauthorized transactions made using Google Wallet?: If you would like to dispute an in-store transaction made using a linked credit or debit card in your Google Wallet, authorized or unauthorized, please call us and we will work to resolve the issue. You also have refund or other rights under your agreement with the issuing bank of your linked debit or credit card. Contact the issuing bank and the agreement governing your card account for more information. Many banks apply a $0 liability policy for unauthorized use.
What data does Google Wallet store about my purchases?: For your convenience, Google Wallet records information about your purchases, such as merchant, amount, date and time, method of payment, and, optionally, geolocation. You can view your Transaction History in the mobile app and in the online management center.
Can or should I install Google Wallet on a rooted phone?: No, we do not support Google Wallet on rooted phones.

Offers

What are Google Offers?: Google Offers are deals on products and services at local or online businesses. You can learn more about our beta trial of "Offers of the Day" at www.google.com/offers. We are also testing other types of offers in different Google products, including Google Search and Google Maps.
How do I redeem Google Offers?: At most stores, simply show your offer to the cashier at checkout. The cashier will either scan the offer’s barcode or manually type it in. At a small but growing number of Google SingleTap™ merchants, you can pay for your purchase and redeem your offer in a single tap.
What are Featured Offers?: Featured Offers are discounts that are exclusive to Google Wallet and can be discovered in the Offers tab of the app and redeemed with NFC. All Google Wallet users can redeem featured offers at select SingleTap™ merchant locations within New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington DC. At present, these merchants include American Eagle Outfitters, The Container Store, Jamba Juice, and Macy’s. For a specific set of stores in your area, please search our merchant map.
What are Nearby Offers?: Nearby Offers are discounts shown to Google Wallet users from a wide range of local businesses that are near the user’s location. At most stores, users can redeem Nearby Offers by simply showing their offer to the cashier at checkout. The cashier will either scan the offer’s barcode or manually type in the offer code.

Merchants

Do brick-and-mortar merchants pay card-present or card-not-present rates for transactions made via Google Wallet?: Merchants pay card-present rates for all purchases made using Google Wallet, regardless of the user’s selected card.
What is a Google SingleTap™ merchant?: Many retailers are partnering with Google to become Google SingleTap™ merchants, which means that consumers will be able to pay, redeem offers, and earn loyalty points - all in one tap of a phone.
How can I save my own offers to Google Wallet?: Please see our “save to wallet” API, available in beta here.

Partners

What kinds of companies can partner with Google for Google Wallet?: Google partners with many kinds of companies for Google Wallet, including Issuing banks, payment networks, point of sale systems, semiconductor companies, mobile handset manufacturers, mobile operators, and merchants.
How does a company partner with Google Wallet?: If you’re a business interested in partnering with Google Wallet, contact us. You may also learn about our Save to Wallet APIs here.