Search giant Google is reportedly doubling down on its mobile payments strategy, agreeing on a new deal with major U.S. wireless providers to pre-install the Google Wallet app on Android handsets while acquiring the technology behind Softcard from those same carriers.
Google announced that it has bought Softcard, a mobile payments system developed by Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.
Under this relationship, the Google Wallet app, including the tap and pay functionality, will come pre-installed on Android phones (running KitKat or higher) sold by these carriers in the US later this year.
It is also acquiring some exciting technology and intellectual property from Softcard to make Google Wallet better.
The purchase is big for Google, which has had its mobile payments system for years but has had trouble gaining ground against competitors such as, well, Softcard and the recently launched Apple Pay.
Softcard said in a statement that its current users will still be able to use its app — for now. “We will share more information with customers and partners in the coming weeks,” the company said in a statement.
With the addition of Softcard, it should work on select Windows Phone devices as well.
Both services use technology that keeps retailers from seeing the actual credit card number, even if hackers try to steal it from the register where you’re paying.
Google encrypts your credit and debit card information and stores it on its secure servers. Both Apple Pay and Softcard store the information on a chip within a smartphone itself.