Google Wallet launches in India; store boarding passes, loyalty cards and movie tickets on Android

Google has unveiled its latest innovation for Indian users with the launch of the Google Wallet app. This application promises to redefine the Android experience by offering fast, secure, and convenient access to a multitude of everyday essentials, from boarding passes to loyalty cards, event tickets, and much more.

Designed to seamlessly integrate into the lives of Android users, Google Wallet serves as a central hub for organising and managing digital documents with ease. Whether it's storing movie tickets, accessing boarding passes, or redeeming loyalty and gift cards, Google Wallet promises to streamline daily tasks and simplify the user experience.

In a strategic move to enhance its presence in the Indian market, Google has forged partnerships with over 20 leading brands, including industry giants such as PVR & INOX, Air India, Indigo, Flipkart, Pine Labs, Kochi Metro, and Abhibus. These collaborations ensure that users can enjoy a comprehensive range of services and offerings within the Google Wallet ecosystem.

Ram Papatla, GM & India Engineering Lead, Android at Google, emphasised the significance of this launch, stating, "The arrival of Google Wallet in India marks an important milestone in Android's India journey, bringing innovative and convenient experiences to simplify peoples' daily lives. We are delighted to partner with many of India's top brands to offer a comprehensive solution that helps you securely access and manage your everyday essentials. From boarding passes to loyalty cards, and event tickets to public transport passes - they're there when you need them."

Google Wallet introduces a myriad of features aimed at enhancing user convenience and efficiency:

- Save Movie or Event Tickets:** Partnering with entertainment giants like PVR and INOX, users can seamlessly add their movie and event tickets to their Google Wallet, ensuring hassle-free access whenever needed.

- Access Boarding Passes: Collaborations with leading airlines such as Air India, Air India Express, and major travel platforms like MakeMyTrip and Ixigo enable travellers to store and retrieve their mobile boarding passes effortlessly. Pixel device users can further simplify the process by adding their boarding passes with a simple screenshot.

- Redeem Loyalty or Gift Cards: Through partnerships with popular retailers like Flipkart, Dominos, and Shoppers Stop, users can digitise their loyalty and gift cards, making transactions more convenient and accessible. Loyalty program enablers such as Pinelabs, EasyRewardz, and Twid facilitate the seamless integration of digital cards within the Google Wallet.

- Ride Public Transit: Collaborations with transportation authorities including Kochi Metro, Hyderabad Metro, VRL Travels, and Abhibus enable travellers to store and manage their transit tickets within the Google Wallet, simplifying their commuting experience.

- Corporate Badge Integration: Google Wallet extends its functionality beyond consumer-centric services by partnering with system integrators like Wavelynx and Alert Enterprise to facilitate the storage and access of corporate badges, enhancing workplace convenience for users.

- Digitise Physical Documents: Users can effortlessly create digital passes within the Wallet by scanning barcodes or QR codes from any image, transforming physical documents into easily accessible digital assets.

- Automatically view important tickets from Gmail: After booking a movie ticket, IPL ticket or train ticket, the event confirmation sent to a person's Gmail account will automatically appea in their Google Wallet, if they have smart personalisation settings in Gmail turned on.

"In our mission to delight our customers through innovative digital experiences, we are always looking for opportunities to partner with global companies like Google to bring guest-friendly capabilities to life In this quest, we are glad to be the first airline from India to make our boarding passes available directly on the Google Wallet. This helps us provide an environmentally friendly solution to our valued guests that also provides digital features such as auto-update of boarding pass details in a convenient central location on their Android phones," said Dr Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer Air India.

Speaking at the launch, Gaurav Arora, Vice President of Payments and Supercoins, Flipkart, said, "At Flipkart, we prioritise creating the best customer experience. Over the years, we have consistently worked towards ensuring our SuperCoins Reward Programme, which is one of India's largest rewards programmes, is the most fulfilling experience for every customer. We believe that the redemption of SuperCoins is as enjoyable as earning money, and we are excited to reward shoppers in new ways. We would like to congratulate and welcome Google Wallet in India."

Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX Limited, added, "At PVR /NOX, we constantly strive to elevate the customer experience, and we're delighted to collaborate with Google to extend the Google Wallet experience for our patrons. Movie-going is an essential aspect of people's daily routines for out-of-home entertainment. By integrating purchases made through the PVR and INOX Web and App, including tickets, food and beverages, and the Passport subscription program, customers can conveniently access their bookings through Google Wallet."
Like all Google products, Google Wallet is built to the highest security and privacy standards, where people have full control over what information is stored and how it is used.

Google Wallet is now available for download from the Google Play Store for all Android users in India.