Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google is adding Afterpay as a payment partner for Google Pay’s buy now, pay later service.
- The company is also expanding the app’s virtual card numbers feature to more users with support for Discover cards.
Google Pay debuted a buy now, pay later (BNPL) feature in the US earlier this year to help users easily split payments into installments. At launch, the feature supported select merchants, but Google soon expanded it to more online stores and Android apps in partnership with two buy now, pay later lenders. The company is now adding another payment partner to give users more choices at checkout this holiday season.
Google Pay’s BNPL service lets users split payments into installments, making big purchases less daunting. So far, the app has offered this service with payment partners Affirm and Zip. Google is now adding Afterpay as an option for US shoppers and plans to add Klarna to the list soon.
In addition to a new BNPL partner, Google Pay is expanding its privacy-focused virtual cards feature to more users. The feature lets users generate a virtual card number for debit and credit cards saved on the app. Users can share this virtual card number with merchants while shopping online or making in-app purchases to keep their actual card number secure and avoid potential fraud.
The virtual card numbers feature currently supports American Express, Capital One, and Citi cards. Starting this month, Google Pay will also support Discover cards, allowing more users to keep their card info safe.
These Google Pay improvements aren’t the only new features for shoppers this holiday season. Google has also introduced a new Lens feature that will provide helpful product insights when shopping in-store. Last week, the company also announced a new Google Maps feature that lets you search for products and find nearby stores selling them.
