Google is expected to announced a new payment system put out by the company in May. ‘Android Pay’ is Google’s answer to Apple Pay, and will let users pay for items through Android apps with one tap transactions.

How Android Pay Will Work

Android Pay will work both inside of apps for in-app purchases and in physical stores. Google has also purchased the search company, Softcard, which is a mobile payment platform that is largely backed by wireless carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T Mobile. Those carriers will have Google Wallet pre-loaded on Android devices earlier this year. There’s no word yet whether Google Wallet will remain post Android Pay, but it looks like Google is going to try and combine the two in some way.

Since Google acquired Softcard, the company has ended its own mobile wallets in order to work solely on Google’s new Android Pay project. All of this news is really exciting from Google’s perspective. Apple Pay has proven to be very successful, which could mean that Google will enjoy some of the same success when Android Pay comes to town. The company is being slightly criticized, though, for using a name that is very close to ‘Apple Pay.’ Indeed, ‘Android Pay’ does sound very similar.

The Technology

Android Pay will use Host Card Emulation technology, which makes it simpler for third-parties to connect with the Android Pay platform. Google Wallet also collects user information when that payment platform is used in order to better understand target markets, but there’s no word yet whether or not Android Pay will collect the same details (or any details at all). It would be surprising, though, if Google’s Android Pay did not gather information about users, since the company will be working with third party retailers.

Apple does not have any access to how much users paid when they bought an item, or which items users purchased when using Apple Pay. Google, on the other hand, does have access to this information, and that’s how the company gathers details about users, and what types of things that users prefer. The fact that Google does gather this information makes some people that will use Android Pay slightly nervous.

The reality is, though, that most companies do collect these sorts of details. If you add to that information the fact that Google Wallet (which will most likely be linked to Android Pay) will be pre-loaded on all Android phones in the US this year, you have a pretty decent market of information for Google to collect and use.

Google’s Big Announcement

Google will officially announce Android Pay this coming May. Along with that announcement will come more information about how Android Pay will work, and what kinds of information Google will be collecting. If you do plan to buy an Android phone, you can expect to be able to pay with Android Pay in the near future. It’s clear that Google is banking on Android Pay to be as popular as Apple Pay - we’ll see if that wager pans out.