Adding cards to Google Wallet will soon be easier than ever, how does it work?

Google Wallet is soon getting an update that should make adding payment cards much easier than before, all while leveraging the contactless features of Android smartphones. We'll explain everything to you.

So let's be honest: adding a payment card to Google Wallet is already pretty simple in the latest versions of the app pre-installed on compatible Android smartphones. Just click +, manually enter the card information, or let the app scan the numbers for you. Then the rest is between Google and your payment issuer.

And yet, it's possible to make things even simpler. And that's exactly what Google is implementing. Indeed, your card already has a contactless function that allows it to communicate its data directly to a variety of terminals. This has already made it possible, for some time now, at least in theory, to simplify the operation by relying on contactless functions.

Adding cards to Google Wallet will soon be as simple as bring it close to the back of the smartphone

So, it would then be enough to present the card to the back of the smartphone for all the magic to happen. And indeed, in the latest version of the Google Wallet APK, our colleagues at Android Authority have just discovered the arrival of this method of adding cards, for both debit and credit cards. Three lines of code outline how this new feature works.

You can read the words “Tap to add card”, which means “bring your card close to the back of your device until it vibrates”, and the messages “Hold your card close to the back of your device until it vibrates”, and “Tap card to phone”. Our colleagues believe that the only somewhat manual step that will survive in the new system will be entering the three CVV security digits.

Not all cards may be compatible with this method of adding cards. This could, although this has not yet been confirmed, be based on a modification of the EMV standard used for contactless payment on Visa, Mastercard, and Europay cards. For now, Google has yet to deploy this new feature on compatible smartphones. This should happen in the coming weeks, with no official timetable from the company.