NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Google Pay has added its first new countries in 18 months, all of them in continental Europe and all counting digital banks and other fintechs as the vast majority of the issuers across the 10 new markets.
The announcement of the new countries Tuesday, which include the Netherlands, Greece, Portugal and several in Eastern and Central Europe, comes as Google introduces a revamp of its payments app and moves deeper into financial services in the U.S. That includes introducing new money-management and payments features and the planned offer of digital bank accounts in the app with partner financial institutions.
Google had teased the changes on its YouTube channel in a video titled, “Say hello to the new Google Pay,” along with the statement: “We invite you to watch live and learn more about the new Google Pay app, designed to help you improve your relationship with money.”