With so many different manufacturers producing Android phones, it’s surprising just how many add their own branded apps and even, in some cases, layer atop Android. Samsung, for example, has its OneUI that gives Android a different look entirely, as does Vivo (Funtouch OS), Honor (MagicOS), Asus (ZenUI), and Motorola (My UX). Both Xiaomi and Huawei had their own UIs, but have more recently switched from Android to HarmonyOS.
What might surprise some people is that Google’s Pixel lineup also has a UI layer atop Android called Pixel UI. It’s subtle, but it adds some features to the Android experience unique to Pixel devices. What Pixel UI doesn’t do is add what’s known in the biz as “bloatware”, apps that people generally don’t want but that are pre-installed. They show up on computers too nowadays.
One of the apps that used to be included with Android but is now omitted is Google Wallet. As a consequence, the first step is to actually install the payment app on your Pixel. Let’s start there.
INSTALLING GOOGLE WALLET
Go into Settings and you’ll see something similar to:
Tap on the “Google services and preferences” button at the very top and it’ll show some essential Google additions to Android, along with whether you have them installed or not:
My Google Pixel 9a has Autofill ready to set up, along with Cross-device services, but Find My Device and Google Wallet are both waiting to be installed.
Next step: Tap on “Google Wallet” and you’ll pop into the Google Play Store with the correct app already selected:
Did you notice that it has one million reviews?! That’s impressive. To install it, just like any other app or game in the Play Store, tap on “Install“.
GETTING STARTED WITH GOOGLE WALLET
Finally, we’re ready to proceed. If you already had Google Wallet on your phone, you’ve been able to skip these few steps. Woot! Either way, tap to launch “Wallet” and you’ll see the following splash screen:
Looks good. To get into the heart of the app, tap on “View Wallet“.
As you can see near the bottom, you can add a lot more than just payment cards, including Airline membership cards, loyalty program cards, even your driver’s license in a number of states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, and New Mexico. Cool, right?
But we’re not here for your Kroger Card, we’re here to add a credit card. Do that by tapping on either “Add payment card” or “+ Add to Wallet“.
As you can see in the above image, I’ve already registered three credit cards in various Google services, so could probably just tap on one to add it to my Wallet too. But I’ll add a new card instead by tapping on “New credit or debit card“.
ADDING A NEW CARD TO GOOGLE WALLET
Finally, we’re ready for action!
The process is quite easy; Google Wallet brings up a camera and all you need to do is line up the portion of your credit card that has the number in the camera preview box. It instantly grabs the card number and expiration date. You’re required to enter the security CCV code – three digits – manually, but then it’s added.
Credit cards are coded so that the program can generally identify issuing bank and even the card’s design, as can be seen when I complete the entry process:
It’s not ready to use yet, but the card’s now known by the app. To proceed, I’ll tap on “Got it“.
Google’s smart; it doesn’t want you adding cards that aren’t actually yours (sorry, kids), so it needs to communicate with your bank for a confirmation code:
A tap on “Verify it’s you” and I both receive a secure code from my bank and have a text input field where I enter that code. Easy enough.
And now, my card’s ready to use with Google Wallet:
Notice that below the card, it shows “Hold to reader”. Now, to go shopping…
Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about Google tools forever! Please check out my extensive Google Tools help area while you’re here! Thanks.
