Google Pay Reviews - Grab your $5

 

We are not short of mobile payment apps in Singapore. Every company is trying to break into the financial payment sector and are actively trying to increase their market share. We have GrabPay, FavePay, DBS PayLah, and many more like Google that is joining the party.

Google has recently refreshed their payment app Google Pay, which streamlines money transfers from different banks on one platform and also allows its users to make real-time peer-to-peer transfers via PayNow for DBSLah!, OCBC Bank, and Standard Chartered customers.

You can now download its app on either Android or IOS devices. However, the functions on IOS are limited now as you will not be able to use its contactless function.

What can you use Google Pay for

So how is Google Pay different from others? Google Pay payment app is built on Singapore's robust payment infrastructure of PayNow and SGQR. As such, it is safe to say that Google Pay is readily accepted since most merchants and users that are already using PayNow and SGQR.

There are 3 ways you can fund your Google Pay. You can either link with your PayNow, Bank account (DBS PayLah!, OCBC Bank or Standard Chartered) or Credit/Debit card.

Note: Google Pay is just a payment app and does not store any funds on the app

After linking your Google Pay Account, you can use it to pay in stores. Here are 3 ways which you can pay

1. NFC (Unlock your phone and hold it near the reader)
2. PayNow SGQR Code (Open the QR scanner within the app and scan the code)
3. Using PayNow Unique Entity Number

*Currently only Android devices with NFC capabilities can make use of Google Pay contactless payment. For Android users, make sure that Google Play is set as your default payment app in your settings. For iPhone users, you would have to wait for now.

In-store Purchase

Sending and Receiving Money

This is the most common function of mobile payment apps. With Google Pay, you can easily send and receive money from your friends. 

To send money, you will need an account with a participating bank and from there, you can pay anyone who has PayNow even if he or she doesn't have Google Pay.

To receive money, you just need to have an active PayNow account.

Bus and MRT rides

With Google pay, you can now use your mobile phone to pay for your rides via NFC. Simply unlock your phone and hold it near the card readers.

Split Payments

The new split bill function is useful for requesting and receiving payments after a meal with friends. Singapore is in fact the first country where users can form groups to organize and manage payments, as well as divide bills and other joint expenses within the app.

Food

With Google Pay, you can browse and order takeout or delivery under their 'Order Food' tab. Some participating restaurants include Burger King, the daily cut, and Omnivore.

It even has a category named 'Food King' where I presume you could get dishes that are featured on the NOC show.

Movie ticket

Under the 'Cinema Ticket' tab, you can skip the queue at Golden Village or Shaw by booking your movie tickets here. Currently, when you purchase movie tickets from Golden Village or Shaw with Google Pay, you will get the S$1.50 (all halls except Gold Class) or S$2.50 (Gold Class) convenience fee waived upon completing a movie ticket transaction.

*You get the fee waived max once per week

Rewards

To make users switch to Google Pay as their preferred choice, the app is also giving out rewards for transactions made on the app. Such transactions include Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments of at least S$10 or payment and minimum spend S$3 at qualifying stores.

The reward comes in the form of virtual scratchcards worth up to S$10 where you can 'scratch' them to find out how much you have won. 

Do take a look at the 'Offers' tab in their app for more offers

Is Google Pay safe?

According to Google, when you use Google Pay for purchase, it does not share your actual card information. Instead, the merchant would receive a unique encrypted code to make the transaction.

In the event you lose your phone, Google can remotely find, lock, or erase your phone data for you.

Personal Opinion

Their app is designed with their users in mind. The app was intuitive with Google guiding you throughout the process. I really like the split transaction feature on the app where you can even chat with your friends on it.

While GrabPay is currently the most used payment app in Singapore, I believe Google Pay would soon be adopted by many. As an iPhone user, I cant wait for them to enable contactless transactions for IOS. 

With all the rewards for using GooglePay now, I say why not give it a try.

How to sign up for Google Pay

If you would like to give Google Pay a try, consider using my referral link on your phone or type 5v5g98n. You would get a S$5 referral bonus and a scratch card. I have provided a step by step guide below.

1. Enter your phone number in the link
2. You will then be redirected to the App Store / Google Play Store to download Google Pay
3. Sign up for Google Pay and link with your PayNow Account
4. Add payment method of your choice (Refer to the first video of this blog to guide you)
5. Ensure you have opted in for offers and rewards
6. Make a transaction of more than $10 (The easiest would be to do a P2P transaction to your friend.)
7. Once successful, look under the 'rewards' tab for your bonus.

Hope this article has helped you. If you are interested in personal finance, do look at my other blog posts.