Android Pay comes to Canada starting today

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Google's mobile payment platform, Android Pay, is now available in Canada. Currently supported by BMO, CIBC, Banque Nationale, Scotiabank, Desjardins, President’s Choice Financial, ATB Financial, and Canadian Tire Financial Services will work with Android Pay on devices running Android KitKat 4.4 or higher. 

"Today Android Pay will be rolled out into Canada with support with all the major banks in Canada. Not just payments but also loyalty cards, tickets and personal artifacts,"  said Spencer Spinell, Director of emerging platforms for Google. Hit jump for the full story.

Canada's wide adoption of contactless payments and touch-to-pay technology makes it a natural fit for services like Android Pay.  Spinell mentioned that the Android ecosystem has 2 Billion monthly active Android users worldwide. Users turn to their smartphones 150 times per day, so integrating payments makes a lot of sense. 

Android Pay uses NFC (Near Field Communications) as well as a tokenized wallet app to ensure safe and encrypted transactions. Canadians running Android devices who have accounts with the above financial institutions can download the app and enroll their debit or credit cards. American Express and Tangerine are expected to work with Android Pay in the near future.

"Canadians love buying things on their smartphones. They want seamless shopping experiences. Mobile payments are seeing 120 percent growth year-over-year. 30 per cent of smartphone users are in a hurry  and 42% of Canadians believe the smartphone is more critical to their daily life than their wallet," Spinell said.

“Canadians love buying things on their smartphones. They want seamless shopping experiences. 120 percent growth year-over-year. 30 per cent of smartphone users are in a hurry. 42% of Canadians believe the smartphone is more critical to their daily life than their wallet," Spinell explain.