After Apple Card, which Apple announced in March last year to great fanfare, Huawei recently said it would issue a card as well. Google has now joined this race among technology companies, announcing that it will launch a new card of its own.
According to a report published by TechCrunch, Google has been working on a physical debit card for some time and has been making arrangements to compete with Apple Card. The report says the physical card will have a chip and will be co-branded with several large banks and lenders such as Citigroup and Stanford Federal Credit Union (SFCU). It is safe to say that Google’s main goal is to grow both Google Pay and Google Card, with the card backed by its own mobile payment service, Google Pay.
What features will Google Card have?
Although it is not widely known, Google already has a card experience in its past. In 2014, when Google Pay was still known as Google Wallet, the company offered a debit card that could be used with your Wallet balance. The company discontinued this feature in 2016.
Apple Card, introduced in 2019, was launched as a credit card; Google Card, however, appears to be positioned more as a debit card or prepaid card. With these cards, which will be used for shopping, contactless transactions will also be possible.
In addition, payments will be made through smartphones, and the card will also be usable by creating a virtual card. If a card is lost or stolen, users will be able to report the loss or theft through the app.
Although it looks very similar to Apple Card in design, we can safely say that Google Card will be a prepaid card, a type that has become very popular lately. Besides having a chip for increased security, being a card on which you can spend only what you have loaded removes the risk of spending beyond the payment limit, as can happen with a credit card.
So, do you need to go to a bank to get a Google Card?
Since it is not designed as a credit card, you do not need to go to a bank and apply for a credit card.
Will Mastercard back Google Card again?
Apple Card came with Mastercard. Frankly, it was not very surprising to see Visa behind Google Card.
So, are transactions made with Google Card secure?
Because you can make your payments by entering a PIN or scanning your fingerprint, you can pay securely.
So, can we say that Apple Card and Google Card have become rivals?
At first glance, we might say they are rivals simply because both are cards, but when we consider a credit card versus a prepaid card, the overlap shrinks considerably. More precisely, once details about Google Card are shared more openly and clearly, we will be able to compare the features and functions of the new card with Apple Card more thoroughly.
Where and when will Google Card first be available?
The card will first be used in the United States, but it is not yet clear when it will be launched.
Finally, we can say that payment systems are no longer the monopoly of banks, and that technology companies such as Apple, Huawei and Google, along with payment institutions and e-money institutions that offer customers alternative payment services, will become more influential day by day.
