Seems like Google hasn’t forgotten about Google Wallet after all.
Google Wallet added a a send/request money feature yesterday to facilitate mobile peer-to-peer payments from smartphones. A similar service was launched in the spring of 2013 on Gmail, which allows users to click on a dollar sign attachment and send money to friends, in a manner similar to Square Cash. To make it even easier for customers, Google has added the feature to its mobile Google Wallet app for iOS and Android devices as well.
This update comes as many wondered what direction Google would take its digital wallet, especially in light of the bad new for digital wallet lately.
At Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O 2014, Bank Innovation reported that Google had two separate sessions with a focus on the Instant Buy feature. But then, Google released its Android Wear SDK so developers can create apps for the new line of Android smartwatches in development and there was no Google Wallet app — but there was a PayPal one. Yet, this update reminds us that Google is still working on Wallet, albeit slowly and quietly.
This is the first major Google Wallet update since December 2013, according to App Annie, but this “update” is only a feature that Google implemented into Gmail already and is a service that apps like Venmo already do well. It’s a relatively underwhelming update but it reminds us that the Mountain View,Calif.-based company still has wallets on its mind. Combined with the Google I/O focus on Instant Buy, Google Wallet could be gearing up for a big update in the second half of 2014.