Google recently launched a revamped, feature-rich Google Pay service in the U.S. complete with money transfers, rewards and financial insights. Shortly after the launch, the company also shared (then later removed) a support document that said the old Google Pay website and apps would stop being able to send or receive payments or withdraw money.
However, for Canadians worried that they didn’t get the update and that Google Pay might stop working properly, there’s nothing to fear. Google confirmed to MobileSyrup that the Google Pay changes are U.S. only and in Canada, the current Google Pay will continue working just fine.
While certainly good news, anyone who looked over the ambitious changes coming to the Pay in the U.S. may be feeling left out. Alongside the standard gamut of payment services, the refreshed Pay app includes an ‘Explore’ tab that surfaces offers and coupons. Those who opt-in can have Google’s algorithms provide custom offers based on shopping habits. Most of these generate some form of cashback, which ends up deposited into your Pay account. Interestingly, Google associates the offers with a credit card, so you don’t need to remember a coupon code or anything — just make the purchase with the card and Google sorts out the rest.
There’s also a new ‘Insights’ tab that will let users track and monitor spending habits. It also displays cards with summaries of relevant financial information similar to how Instagram Stories operates. And finally, Google plans to launch its ‘Plex’ banking service sometime in 2021. Plex isn’t Google getting into banking directly — instead, it allows banks to use Google Pay as their banking app.
Ultimately, most of these features can be obtained through any of the various smart finance apps out there already, such as Mint or Koho. Perhaps the new Pay will come to Canada in the future, but for now, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
