Google launches Android Pay in Singapore

Singapore is the first market in Asia to go live with Android Pay, following Android Pay’s launch in the United States in September 2015 and in the United Kingdom in May 2016. DBS/POSB, OCBC and Standard Chartered will be the first banks to support Android Pay in Singapore, with UOB coming soon.

Owners of Android devices, including smartphone and tablets, running on Android 4.4+ or newer can begin using Android Pay for contactless and in-app payments. Once a MasterCard cardholder downloads the app and sets up an account, all they have to do is add their MasterCard credit and debit cards into the payment app and they are ready to shop simply, safely and securely with Android Pay. To pay in store, consumers wake their smartphone, hold it near a payment terminal at any location that accepts contactless payments, and their transaction is completed.

In setting up a device for Android Pay, MasterCard generates a digital “token” that is associated with that device and stored on a secure server. There is a separate token assigned to each of the consumer’s devices, which means that not only is the token number different from the ‘real’ card number but it is also prevented from transacting via any other device. When the consumer uses their mobile device in a transaction, it is the token and not the real card number that is provided to the shop. For consumers and retailers alike, this ensures that every purchase made with a MasterCard using Android Pay offers all the benefits and guarantees of a transaction with the physical MasterCard card.

Android Pay users can start making mobile payments at more than 30,000 contactless payments readers in Singapore.

As a participant in the MasterCard Digital Enablement Express programme, Google has streamlined the on boarding process to engage with all participating MasterCard issuers around the globe, accelerating consumer access to Android Pay, as it becomes available in different markets.