Google Launches Android Pay In U.S.

Google Inc. announced Thursday that its refreshed mobile-payments offering, Android Pay, has launched in the United States. The offering, which replaces Google Wallet as a mobile-payments option on Android phones and challenges Apple Inc.'s Apple Pay system, will allow users to pay for goods in equipped physical locations with their Android smartphones. Google said that it is accepting credit and debit cards from four major payments processors -- American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa -- through most banks. The Web giant said that of the banks it has not signed up yet, Citi and Wells Fargo are expected in the next few days, and Capital One is "coming soon." "We'll be rolling out gradually over the next few days, and this is just the beginning," Android Pay executive Pali Bhat wrote in a blog post announcing the launch. Existing Google Wallet users should be able to update to Android Pay and new users can find the app in the Google Play Store in the next few days, Bhat wrote.