Google has demonstrated how its Android Pay mobile payments service will work for making in-store and in-app purchases, for payments made through a banking partner mobile app, and how users will be able to pay for items such as a Coca-Cola from a vending machine using just the points stored in a customer loyalty account.

In a video of a session at Google’s I/O event last week, the company also reveals further details about its Google Wallet plans as well as the Hands Free payment service that is to be piloted with McDonald’s and Papa John’s later this year.

During the presentation, director of product management for consumer and merchant payments Pali Bhat starts by demonstrating how an in-store payment is made using Android Pay on an Ingenico terminal.

“What you have here is a payment terminal from our partners at Ingenico,” Bhat explains. “As you can see, they have a cool Android Pay logo on the terminal as well, and I have Android Pay loaded on this phone and so all I have to do to pay is tap. We integrated this entire process of Android Pay with paying right into the Android platform and all I have to do to make a secure payment is unlock this device, it’s that simple.

“So what I’m going to go ahead and do is enter my pattern. Now all I have to do is tap and I’m done. It’s that simple. And of course, you get a notification right away on your device when you make a purchase.

“Payments don’t usually end with just paying with your card. You usually use loyalty cards, coupons or gift cards at the point of sale as well, and so we wanted to figure out how we solve for that. What we’ve done is taken all of this loyalty and offers information and built it into Android Pay to work seamlessly.”

Using a Coca-Cola vending machine, Bhat continues to demonstrate how a transaction is processed using the My Coke Rewards card stored inside the Android Pay service by tapping his phone against the NFC reader. It recognises that he has 30 points stored in his account, before allowing him to pay for the Coke using the loyalty points as currency.

Bhat then demonstrates how Android Pay works inside bank partner mobile applications before showing how the service will work for in-app purchases with a press of an Android Pay button.

Google Wallet

“I’m sure at least one person is asking him or herself, so what happens to Google Wallet?” Ariel Bardin, vice president of product management at Google Payments, says as he takes to the stage following the Android Pay demonstrations.

“We launched Google Wallet back in 2011 and you could do tap and pay with it. We also introduced a Buy with Google button afterwards as well as a bunch of other functionality like sending your friends money, which is great. We’re seeing, by the way, huge adoption there, a 400% increase in users year over year.

“You can store balance with us, so if your friend sends you some money you can then keep that as a balance with Google and you can use a MasterCard to purchase anywhere you want to spend that money. All of this was bundled into one app.

“So what we’d like to do with Android Pay and what we’ll do over the next couple of months as we roll out Android Pay is we’re going to have one app that will do the in-store purchases, tap and pay, we’ll rebrand the button as you’ve seen in these demos but, to answer the question, what happens to Google Wallet?

“We’re going to have a new Google Wallet app that will focus solely on those functions, meaning I have a debit card, I want to send money easily to a friend of mine, my friend wants to collect that money, spend it with a debit card. All those functions will be in a new app that we’re calling the new Google Wallet and you’ll see that rolling out over the next couple of months with Android Pay.”

Hands Free

To finish the ‘Android Pay: The next generation of payments on Android’ session Atif Rafiq, chief digital officer at McDonald’s, takes to the stage to share some further details on Hands Free, showing a short video of a person making a purchase in a McDonald’s location using the service.

“One of the key steps in the customer journey is paying, so behind me what you can see is Hands Free in action at a local McDonald’s,” Rafiq explains. “As you can see, it’s really very, very simple. How cool would it be to step into a McDonald’s and simply say, I’m here to pay with Google. I think that would be really, really neat.

“So, what you’re going to be able to do is no longer forage through your pocket or your bag to pay at McDonald’s; you simply arrive, convey your order to the crew person, let them know that you want to pay with Google and Hands Free takes care of the rest.

“The app helps us verify that it’s you and we’ve integrated our systems so, once Hands Free securely charges your account, we give you your food and you’re on your way.”

“We’re very excited about mobile payments,” Google’s Bardin adds. “Google is obviously investing a lot in this area and what is most exciting is to just see how we can work together across the payments ecosystem to really bring simplicity to users so that they can enjoy mobile payments.”