After months of speculation, Google has released that their eagerly awaited Android Pay platform in the UK. Having been available in the United States for several years, Midland Pallet Trucks, one of the UK’s leading providers of pallet and pump trucks, has championed the news, highlighting its potential to boost the retail industry and give the country’s economy a much needed lift.
After announcing last month that the contactless payment service would soon be available in the UK, the news came earlier this week. Going head-to-head with rival Apple, the platform makes it easy for consumers to make contactless payments using phones running Google’s Android software. And as the UK was one of the top three European countries for contactless payments, most probably due to their compatibility with London public transport, the platform looks set to further underpin mobile payments.
Phil Chesworth, Managing Director of Midland Pallet Trucks said, “With everything that’s going on with the EU Referendum at the moment, the retail industry has suffered. Falling sales and a lack of interest in new products have hit retailers hard over the last couple of months. However Android’s announcement signals excellent news for the retail industry, highlighting just how much confidence large organisations have in the UK economy and opened up contactless payments to a much wider audience.”
Contactless payment systems such as Apple Pay have been steadily increasing in popularity over the last 12 months. Visa Europe recently announced that over 3 billion contactless transactions had been made in Europe over the last year, which is almost three times as many as in 2014-15.
Launch partner banks include Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, First Direct, M&S Bank, MBNA, Nationwide Building Society and the Bank of Scotland.