Google Pay, Visa partner for card-based payments with tokenisation

Google Pay on Monday announced the rollout of tokenisation across its platform that will enable users to safely transact with their debit or credit cards.

Through tokenisation, Google Pay Android users can use their debit or credit card to make payments through a secure digital token attached to their phone without having to physically share their credit or debit card details.

The feature will also facilitate use of tap-to-pay feature on near-field communications (NFC)-enabled point of sale (PoS) terminals and online merchants, a statement said.

"Working in close partnership with Visa and banking partners, this feature is now available to all users of Axis and SBI Card, with Kotak and more banks expected to follow suit very soon," it added.

The feature also works with online merchants, delivering more native and seamless OTP experiences without any redirects to 3D secure sites, the statement said.

To enable the tap and pay feature using the smartphone phone, users will have to do a one-time set up by entering their card details and follow it by entering the OTP they get from the bank to add their card to the Google Pay app.

After the registration, the feature can be used to make payments at NFC-enabled terminals.

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The statement said with tokenisation, Google Pay will enable safe and secure omni-channel experiences to help consumers use NFC capable Android devices/phones to make contactless payments at over 2.5 million Visa merchant locations, scan and pay at more than 1.5 million Bharat QR-enabled merchants and pay bills and recharges from within their Google Pay app using their card.

"We're committed to offer the most secure payments experience to our growing base of users, and tokenisation helps to replace sensitive data such as credit and debit card numbers with tokens, eliminating any chances of fraud," Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head Google Pay and Next Billion Users - India, said.

He added that the service is already live for SBI Card and Axis card holders with Visa payments network, and the company is working closely with Kotak and other banking partners to further expand the adoption of card-based payments with tokenisation in India.

"It is the culmination of months of collaboration between Google and Visa that has helped us roll out this global-first initiative for Google Pay in India. Made in India for millions of mobile first consumers, there couldn't have been a better time to introduce this tokenised and contactless form of payment," TR Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, Visa, India and South Asia said.

He added that Visa recently crossed over one billion token credentials globally and with Google Pay live in India, the company expects these numbers to rise significantly.

Ashwini Kumar Tewari, MD and CEO of SBI Card said the collaboration with Google Pay will enable the company to offer safe, convenient digital payment solutions to a vast user base.

"As smartphone penetration in India soars, credit cards have also changed form to reside securely on the mobile phone and our partnership with Google opens up a new, secure and seamless payment route for our customers using smartphones," he added.