Bunq becomes first Dutch bank to launch Google Pay

Android, unlike Apple, does provide access to its NFC chip in the devices. Many banks have incorporated the option for mobile payment with an Android phone into or around their own mobile banking apps and can thus put their own spin on it. However, there is also such a thing as Google Pay, Google's own payment service with a fixed associated interface. Online bank Bunq is the first Dutch bank to add Google Pay to its range of payment options.

Google Pay is secure and easy to use, both in physical stores and online, with one or a few actions, somewhat depending on how one sets it up. Early last year, Google acquired a payment license in Ireland for this purpose, which can be used throughout the EU as a result of so-called passporting rights.

The payment service can be used with smartphones, of course, but also via smartwatches or other forms of wearables. It does require that users have at least Android 5.0 Lollipop, after Google's habit of naming its operating systems in ascending alphabetical order after sweets. Most devices will meet that requirement, as Lollipop is over five years old.

Logical next step

"We are constantly challenging the status quo to make our users' lives easier and in that, this is a logical next step. Paying these days has to be fast, easy and secure, so I am very happy that we are making Google Pay available to all Bunqers in the Netherlands," said CEO Ali Niknam.

For now, it remains to be seen whether other banks will follow Bunq's example and whether they will actually feel challenged. Because the payment chip is freely accessible, it is possible for any bank to develop its own payment service for Android users. Including their own "look and feel," which could be quite interesting for banks in terms of brand perception. Demand in the Netherlands for Google Pay also seems to be much less pregnant than it was with Apple Pay, presumably precisely because of the many alternatives that already exist.