The feature will use tokenization to make contactless payments at NFC-enabled POS terminals. For the unaware, tokenization links a digital token with your phone allowing you to make and authenticate payments without having to share your card details with the merchant. According to the company, the new feature will allow Google Pay users to make contactless payments at over 2.5 million VISA merchants and over 1.5 million Bharat QR enabled merchants in the country. As mentioned above, the feature is currently only available for Axis Bank and SBI customers with VISA cards, but more banks are expected to join soon as well. “We’re committed to offer the most secure payments experience to our growing base of users, and tokenization helps to replace sensitive data such as credit and debit card numbers with tokens, eliminating any chances of fraud. We are hopeful that the tokenisation feature will further encourage users to transact securely and safely in the current times, and expand merchant transactions both online and offline. We are already live for Axis and SBI Card holders with Visa payments network and are working closely with Kotak and other banking partners to further expand the adoption of card-based payments with tokenisation in India.” said Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head, Google Pay and NBU — India.
