Google Wallet brings Gmail money transfers to UK

Google Wallet has made its first proper move outside the US to allow users in the UK to send money using Gmail.

Google informed TechCrunch that the service went live yesterday for 10-20 per cent of Gmail users in the UK, and will roll out over the next few days to be available to all users by the beginning of next week.

This is the only Google Wallet service rolling out in the UK. Google has not revealed when – or if – it will launch point-of-sale services for its mobile wallet to allow UK users to pay for items at participating stores using the Google Wallet app.

But Apple has made a commitment to entering the UK market with Apple Pay, and Google is unlikely to stand aside.

Gmail users in the US have had access to the money transfer feature since May, as part of a bigger ploy by Google to expand Google Wallet services beyond point-of-sale payments. The tech-giant has recently partnered with other payment providers to integrate its Instant Buy API into more e-commerce stores.

 

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