Google Pay Send

Google Pay Send, previously known as Google Wallet, was a peer-to-peer payments service developed by Google before its merger into Google Pay. It allowed people to send and receive money from a mobile device or desktop computer.

In 2018, Android Pay and Google Wallet were unified into a single pay system called Google Pay. The old Wallet app was rebranded Google Pay Send, before it was discontinued as well in 2020.

Google Pay is structured to allow its patrons to send money to each other. To send money, a Google Pay user enters the email address or phone number of the recipient. The recipient must then link that phone number or email address to a bank account in order to access those funds. If the recipient also has a Google Pay account, the funds will post to that account directly.

Users can link up to two bank accounts when the Wallet account is created. Received money goes to the Google Pay Balance and stays there until the user decides to cash out to a linked account.

The Google Pay app is available for free from either Google Play or the App Store. After downloading the app, the user creates a four-digit personal identification number (PIN) for managing everything within their Google Pay account. The PIN verifies access to the Wallet app on the user's mobile device.

Before it was discontinued on June 30, 2016, the Google Wallet Card was recognized by the Cirrus network operated by MasterCard (rather than the Plus network operated by Visa).

In September 2017, Google launched its first major payments service outside the United States, in Tez, India.

Google demonstrated the original version of the service at a press conference on May 26, 2011. The first app was released in the US only on September 19, 2011. Initially, the app only supported Mastercard cards issued by Citibank.