NFC Times Exclusive Insight – Google is trying to play catch up with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay by accelerating the international expansion of its mobile payments service, Android Pay, and has launched the service in a fourth market this year, Hong Kong.
With the latest launch, Android Pay is available in five countries: the U.S., UK, Singapore and Australia, as well as Hong Kong. While a small market, Android Pay launched with some of Hong Kong’s largest banks, with three of them also having backed the service in other countries. HSBC is supporting Android Pay in the UK, while DBS and Standard Chartered launched Android Pay in Singapore. Other banks participating in Android Pay in Hong Kong include HSBC-owned Hang Seng Bank, Dah Sing Bank and The Bank of East Asia.
Two major payments networks also support Android Pay, Visa and Mastercard. American Express and China UnionPay, at least for now, are sitting out of Google's updated host card emulation-based payments service, which the search giant has pitched as an “open platform.”