Google announced on Wednesday (May 8) that it was expanding its Google Wallet service to users in India, with a focus on providing localized experiences.
In a blog post, the company stated, “To start, we’ve partnered with over 20 of India’s top brands, offering one of the widest ranges of partners for any digital wallet in India. We look forward to adding more partners soon.”
Among the brands included in this partnership are PVR and INOX, collaborating with Google to allow Android users to add movie or event tickets to their wallets. Additionally, companies like Flipkart and Dominos are onboard to enable consumers to share digital versions of loyalty and gift cards.
The blog post further stated, “We’re partnering with airlines like Air India, Air India Express, and online travel companies like MakeMyTrip, Ixigo, and Easemytrip to help travelers easily save and access their mobile boarding passes in Google Wallet. Pro tip: If you own a Pixel device, take a screenshot of your boarding pass and tap ‘Add to Google Wallet.’”
Moreover, Google highlighted that the wallet would facilitate the purchase and storage of public transport tickets, digitization of physical documents, and the use of Android phones as corporate identification badges.
As PYMNTS reported recently, there is varying enthusiasm surrounding the use of digital wallets to store sensitive documents. According to the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Tracking the Digital Payments Takeover: Can New Use Cases Drive Consumer Use of Digital Wallets?” 51% of consumers expressed either some or very high interest in using digital wallet storage features.
However, among baby boomers and seniors, 78% reported only slight to no interest in keeping documents on their devices.
Interest in using digital wallets to store documents was notably higher among younger consumers. Forty-nine percent of Generation Z respondents and 51% of millennials expressed extreme interest, while 46% of bridge millennials and 26% of Generation X consumers were also extremely interested in utilizing special digital wallet features.
Digital wallet usage also correlates with income levels, with 55% of consumers earning $100,000 or more per year using digital wallets, compared to 41% of those with yearly salaries under $50,000.
