Check out these top apps for keeping your finances, and stress, in check this holiday shopping season.
There’s a lot to love about online shopping: It’s fast, it’s easy and there are a ton of options to choose from. But there’s one obvious challenge — you can’t try anything on. This is something Google product manager Debbie Biswas noticed, as a tech industry veteran and startup founder herself. “Historically, the fashion industry only celebrates people of a certain size and skin color,” she says. “This was something I wanted to change.”
Debbie grew up in India and moved to the U.S. after she graduated college. “I started a company in the women's apparel space, where I learned to solve user pain points around shopping for clothes, sizing and styling.” While working on her startup, Debbie realized how hard shopping was for women, including herself — the models in the images didn’t show her how something would look on her.
“When I got an opportunity to work at Google Shopping, I realized I could solve so many of these problems at scale using the best AI/ML tech in the industry,” she says. “As a woman of color, and someone who doesn't conform to the ‘traditional beautiful size,’ I feel very motivated to solve apparel shopping problems for people like me.”
A look at Style AI in action.
This was what Debbie and her team wanted to accomplish with Style AI. Style AI is a Shopping feature that helps people see how a product looks on various types of body styles and offers styling advice. Style AI works by using a machine learning algorithm to look at a specific product and visually understand it. “So if someone searches ‘gingham long sleeve shirt,’ Style AI will look at images of long-sleeved gingham shirts, apply our vision recognition technology and understand things like the pattern and the sleeve length and show users fashions that might interest them.” In order to make sure Style AI was inclusive of all different types of shapes, sizes and skin tones Debbie consulted with Google’s Product Fairness, or ProFair, team. ProFair helps teams at Google apply the AI Principles by investigating fairness issues. Together, they find ways to build inclusive services, strengthen equity in data labels and promote fairness and combat bias in AI.
ProFair held sessions where everyone involved in the project could look for “fairness issues,” which helped Debbie’s team adjust how they designed Style AI. And there was much to consider. “First, we need to be careful of what data we train a model on. If you tell a machine that a certain size and skin color is what it needs to look for, it will,” Debbie explains. “So as responsible product owners, we need to make sure we train it the right way. Even after this, a machine can make many mistakes unknowingly — for example, not realizing that a certain style can be very offensive in one culture and be totally cool in another.”
For instance, before launching in countries like India and Brazil, ProFair held local focus groups in collaboration with Google’s Product Inclusion team. Debbie says this helped her team find diverse images and clothing for these specific demographics. Debbie’s — and the entire team’s — ultimate goal is that shoppers will feel like they’re seeing themselves when they look for clothing. “Looking at stock product images does not help you decide on your purchase,” she says. “We just always think about what people told us while we were building Style AI: ‘I want to see the product on someone like me!’”
When people in Singapore open the Google Pay app on their Android or iOS device, they’re met by some familiar sights—from the distinctive outlines of the Merlion and the Marina Bay Sands building to the island’s much-loved otters. The goal isn’t just to make Singaporeans feel at home. It’s part of a bigger effort to design Google Pay with local needs in mind.
Our mission with Google Pay is to make money simple, secure and helpful for everyone. Singaporeans were already using Google Pay to tap onto public transport and pay for purchases at more than 80,000 checkout counters. Now, together with our partners, we’re improving and expanding the Google Pay app in Singapore to better reflect the growing role of digital payments in peoples’ lives.
Money made simple with more banks
To make Google Pay more helpful, we’re building on Singapore’s national real-time payment service—known as PayNow.
With the PayNow integration, you can send money to anybody in Singapore, even if they’re not on Google Pay. All you need is their phone number. It’s a feature that we introduced for OCBC customers earlier in the year—we’re now extending it to customers of DBS Paylah!and Standard Chartered Bank.
OCBC, DBS Paylah! and Standard Chartered Bank customers can also use their linked accounts to pay any business that has a PayNow QR code displayed, allowing merchants to receive payments in their corporate bank accounts.
Built around you, your friends and the places you pay
Payments don’t take place in isolation—they’re part of the daily interactions you have with friends, family and local businesses.
We built Google Pay around these everyday relationships, to make it quick and easy to transact with the people and businesses you know. In just a few taps, you'll be able to see a past payment with a business, or find a friend to pay. Plus, sending money to someone new is as easy as sending a chat message—just start entering their phone number.
And now we’re taking it a step further—Singapore is the first country where Google Pay users can form groups to organize and manage payments, as well as divide bills and other joint expenses within the app.
Just for Singapore: food and movies
With Google Pay you can already browse cuisines and order takeout or delivery with the Order Food feature. Now that restaurants have resumed dine-in services, we suspect the new Split a Bill feature will be particularly useful for requesting and receiving payments after a meal with friends.
Singaporeans also love catching a movie, so it’s no surprise there was a collective cheer when cinemas re-opened recently. With the new Google Pay, you can skip the box office queue by booking a movie ticket and reserving your seats instantly within the app. We've just added Golden Village locations, in addition to Shaw Theatres—giving moviegoers a total of 174 screens to choose from across Singapore.
A more rewarding Google Pay
To make it fun to use Google Pay, the app gives out rewards for transactions in the form of virtual scratchcards (you ‘scratch’ them to find out how much you’ve won). You can earn scratchcards with instant cashback rewards on qualifying transactions—and we’re extending the bonuses when you introduce a friend to Google Pay
The ways Singaporeans manage their money and pay for the things they need are changing—and so are their expectations of payment apps. We’re looking forward to continuing to improve Google Pay for everyone in Singapore, building on everything we’ve announced today.
This holiday season, your phone’s camera can do more than just capture your favorite moments. Whether you’re jet-setting off to a new place, brainstorming gift ideas, or learning a family holiday recipe, here are 7 ways Google Lens can help:
If you’re in need of style inspiration for your holiday festivities, look no further. Point Lens at a piece of clothing, like a dress or jacket, to get style ideas from across the web. Lens will show you how others are wearing—and pairing—similar pieces so you can make the most of your closet over the season.
Get style inspiration
Do you like something you see in the real world? Use Lens to identify products similar to it. You can even sort by prices to help you get the best deal. Just remember to ask before taking a photo of a random person’s shoes.
Find similar items
Gift shopping can be fun, but it can also be difficult to keep track of all your orders and be assured that they’ll arrive in time. Point Lens at a tracking number to quickly see the delivery status of your package.
Easily track packages
If you’re taking a holiday trip where you don’t speak the local language, Lens can instantly translate the text in front of you, whether you’re looking at a menu or street sign. Point Lens at any text and it will automatically detect the language and overlay the translations right on top of the original worlds—in more than 100 languages.
Quickly translate text
When you’re out celebrating at a restaurant, Lens can help you decide what to order. Point your camera at a menu to see popular dishes highlighted. Tap on a dish to see what it actually looks like and what other customers are saying about it with photos and reviews from Google Maps.
See popular menu items
Unless you’re playing credit card roulette, splitting the bill can be a pain. With Lens, you can easily figure out everyone’s share of the tab or calculate the tip by pointing your camera at the receipt.
Split the tab
If you don’t want to-do lists scattered everywhere, Lens makes it easy to copy handwritten or printed text directly to your phone. Whether you’re scanning a grocery list, a gift card code, a family recipe, or even a long Wi-Fi password you don’t want to manually enter, use Lens to copy it to your device.
Copy text to your device
To check out these features, download the Google Lens app on the Play Store or the Google app on the App Store. You can also find Lens in your Google Assistant or Google Photos.
We hope these Lens tips provide you with new, fun ways to use your smartphone camera this holiday season and throughout the year.
Today, 76% of U.S. holiday shoppers over 18 use three or more channels.1 At the same time, they expect their experiences to be fast, frictionless, and personalized wherever they are, on whatever device they use. A recent study shows that Google is the first place US shoppers go to discover or find a new brand or product. With Shopping Actions, they can move seamlessly from browsing to buying with a universal cart that works across Search, the Google Assistant, and Google Express whether they’re on mobile, desktop or even a Google Home device.
Today, we’re announcing new Shopping Actions partnerships with Nike, Best Buy, and Sephora, enabling shoppers to search and shop effortlessly for tens of thousands of products ahead of this holiday season.
Best Buy knows that when it comes to buying tech, it’s important that customers can shop how, when and where they want. With Shopping Actions, Best Buy’s products are now available on Google Express. Shoppers can use their voice to ask the Google Assistant to check store hours, order status, or even place an order.
"We’re committed to enriching lives with technology, and part of that means giving people the tools they need to research and buy in stores, online and at home. This partnership let’s our customers explore the latest tech in a whole new way."
-Allison Peterson, President of E-commerce, Best Buy
As the first brand from the Footwear and Apparel industry to join Shopping Actions, Nike makes it easy for shoppers to discover and buy from a rich online assortment. Whether they are shopping through Search or with their voice on the Google Assistant, later this month shoppers will be able to find and buy Nike products directly on Google’s platforms.
"We’re excited to partner with Google and together deliver premium Nike content and inspiring experiences to consumers. We’ll enable frictionless discovery and purchase of Nike products across Google’s ecosystem and elevate the consumer experience with direct access to Nike products and additional benefits when they add their NikePlus membership at checkout."
- Eric Wood, VP of Digital Partnerships, Nike
Sephora is passionate about seamless shopping. Across their award-winning App, website, and 400+ stores, Sephora constantly innovates to offer a connected, smart and fast shopping experience. With 1 out of 3 last-minute shoppers saying they choose where to buy gifts based on how soon they can get them, Sephora saw a perfect fit with Shopping Actions.2 Sephora clients can now buy across Google’s properties and earn valuable Beauty Insider points with each purchase as part of Sephora’s robust loyalty program -- with overnight delivery to almost anywhere in the US.
Nike, Best Buy, and Sephora join hundreds of other merchants already taking part in the program, a 7x increase since we first launched the program. It's easier than ever to join Google Shopping Actions, thanks to integrations with e-commerce solution partners including ChannelAdvisor, CommerceHub, Feedonomics, and Zentail. Even more are coming soon.
1. Google/Ipsos, U.S., Omnichannel Holiday Study, Holiday shoppers 18+ who shopped in previous 48 hours, n=5944, Nov. 2017–Jan. 2018.
2. Google/Ipsos, U.S., Omnichannel Holiday Study, Holiday shoppers 18+ who were last minute shoppers n=1121, Nov. 2017–Jan. 2018.
When we launched Google Pay, our goal was to make it easier to pay in stores with your phone and online using the payment methods saved to your Google Account. In the past few months, we’ve made this possible by bringing fast, simple checkout to more devices, browsers, and services.
Today, we’re starting to roll out updates that will let you do even more with Google Pay. Here’s a look at what’s new.
Send or request money right from the Google Pay app
We’re combining the Google Pay and Google Pay Send apps. Now, you can send or request money right from the Google Pay app if you live in the U.S. (and soon in the UK). And if you picked up the tab using Google Pay, it’s even easier to split the bill. Just tap on a recent purchase and instantly request money from up to five people.
Store boarding passes, tickets, and more in the Google Pay Android app
Never miss another show because you forgot to bring your tickets. Just save them from places like Ticketmaster and Southwest and you’ll always have them on hand. (You’ll be able to store event tickets and boarding passes from even more places soon, including Eventbrite, Singapore Airlines, and Vueling). Once your tickets are saved, you’ll find them with your loyalty cards, gift cards, and offers on the Android app’s new Passes tab. When it’s time for your event or flight, use your phone as your ticket—no printing required.
Easily manage your payment info on the web or in the app
Now that you can use Google Pay on desktop or on iOS, in stores or on transit, on your phone or with your Assistant, we’ve also made it easier to manage your payment info in the app or on the web at pay.google.com. Everything is synced with your Google Account, so if you update your payment info on the web, it’ll be reflected on your phone. Plus, if you download the app, you’ll be able to quickly set up eligible cards saved to your Google Account to pay with your phone in stores.
Get the app and visit the site to check out all the new features.
There are all kinds of ways you might try to get back time in your day, from looking up the fastest route to work to ordering takeout on your way home. Google Pay helps you save precious time at checkout—and get rewarded for it, too. Here are five reasons to give it a try.
1. You can pay faster from more browsers and devices
We’re starting to roll out Google Pay on the web from desktop and iOS—which means you’ll start seeing it when you’re shopping on browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, no matter your device. Plus, if you save a card to Google Pay on your Pixelbook, you'll be able to use it on the web with another device, like an iPhone.
2. You can check out online without all the type
Once you’ve added a card to Google Pay, you won’t need to enter your payment info again—even when you’re checking out in an app or on a site for the first time. And if you’re checking out on Chrome, Google Pay can automatically fill in your billing, shipping, and payment info, so you don’t have to bother with forms.
3. It’s okay to forget your wallet
Whether you’re running a quick errand or grabbing ramen after a run, Google Pay lets you go anywhere with just your Android phone. Speed through checkout in convenience stores, grocery stores, or the millions of places that accept contactless payments with the device that’s already in your hand.
4.There’s no need to wait for the mail
Lost your credit or debit card? No need to wait for a replacement in the mail. When you order a new card from your bank, it’ll automatically update with Google Pay.1 The same is true if your bank issues a new card for one that’s about to expire. If your card is already in Google Pay, your expiration date will update as soon as it’s issued—so you can keep on paying without missing a beat.
5. You’ll get rewarded when you shop
The Google Pay app for Android gives you access to offers you won’t want to miss. You can find out about promotions near you, plus get exclusive offers with the app. Take a look at our current offers if you’ve never tried Google Pay and live in Australia, Canada, Poland, Russia, the UK, or the US. To get started, download the Google Pay app, look for the offers, and opt in.
Check out our site to see all the ways you can make the most of Google Pay, then give it a go the next time you’re checking out.
1 This feature may not be supported by all issuing banks. Please call your bank to confirm.
When the weekend’s over, chances are someone owes you (or you owe someone) money for something—Friday night's concert tickets, Saturday afternoon's barbecue supplies, or Sunday’s matinee at the movies. Starting today, you can ask your Google Assistant to pay your friends back with Google Pay, so you can spend more time having fun and less time dealing with the hassle of paying each other back.
You can easily send or request money from your contacts—for free—using the Assistant on Android and iOS phones in the U.S. In the coming months, you’ll be able to send money on voice-activated speakers like Google Home.
No worries if you haven't already signed up for Google Pay—you'll be prompted to set up your account as soon as you ask the Assistant to send money to your contacts. Funds are transferred almost instantaneously, even if the recipient doesn’t have a Google Pay account. Your friends and family will receive an email, text message, or notification if they’re already have the Google Pay app installed, so they can cash out.
To get started, just say “Hey Google, request $20 from Sam for the show tonight” or “Hey Google, send Jane $15 for lunch today” and let your Google Assistant do the rest.
Crowded public transportation can completely derail your day—especially when you're standing in line to buy a ticket and the train whizzes by. But the next time you’re traveling around Las Vegas, you can skip the line and get there faster with Google Pay. Today, we’re launching mobile tickets for the Las Vegas Monorail, which is powered by NXP’s MIFARE contactless technology. Now you’ll be able to purchase your ticket online, save it to Google Pay instantly, and use your phone to ride—no need to open the app.
The Las Vegas Monorail is the first transit agency where you can use prepaid tickets or passes with Google Pay instead of a credit or debit card, and it's coming to more cities soon. Once you’ve saved your ticket, you’ll find info in the app to guide you along your journey—you can see recent transactions, trips, or the location of the nearest Monorail station.
Ready to give it a go? Make sure you have the latest version of Google Pay, then purchase a ticket on the Las Vegas Monorail site and save it to the app. If you bought your ticket on a mobile device, you’re ready to ride! Just hold your phone near the fare gate. Once you see a check mark, you’re good to go.
Fast, simple checkout. Easy access to rewards and offers. One spot for purchases, passes, and payment methods. All of these are ways we’ve been working to make paying safer and easier for everyone, everywhere. And you can make the most of these features with the new Google Pay app for Android.
The app, which begins rolling out today, is just one part of everything we’ve got planned. We’re currently working on bringing Google Pay to all Google products, so whether you’re shopping on Chrome or with your Assistant, you’ll have a consistent checkout experience using the cards saved to your Google Account. We’re also working with partners online and in stores, so you’ll see Google Pay on sites, in apps, and at your favorite places around the world.
As we continue to expand to even more devices and services, the new app offers an exciting glimpse of what’s to come. Here’s a closer look.
Helpful info while you shop
Google Pay’s new Home tab gives you the info you need, right when you need it. See your recent purchases, find nearby stores, enjoy easy access to rewards, and get helpful tips.
A new spot for your stuff
The Cards tab is an easy way to keep everything you need at checkout organized and at the ready. It’s where you’ll store your credit and debit cards, loyalty programs, offers, and even that stack of gift cards from last year’s birthday.
A faster way to pay your fare
Use Google Pay on transit in cities such as Kiev, London, and Portland (with more coming soon), and stop worrying about your pass once and for all. Now all you need at the turnstile is the device that’s already in your hand.
Google security and encryption
Like all Google products, Google Pay comes with strong security protections to safeguard your account and personal data from security threats. In other words, it’s got your back.
All your favorite features
Longtime Android Pay fans, fear not: the features you love aren’t going away. You’ll still get all your bank’s perks and protections, plus an extra layer of security, since Google Pay doesn’t share your actual card number when you pay in stores. And those online payment forms that take forever to fill out? Just choose Google Pay at checkout and pay with a few quick clicks instead.
And more features are coming. If you live in the U.S. or the UK, you’ll be able to use it to send and request money within the next few months. In the meantime, the Wallet app is now called Google Pay Send, and we’re giving it a fresh coat of paint to go with the Google Pay brand.
Want to accept Google Pay for your app, site or business? If you’re a developer, you can work with our processor partners and find all the tools you need on our developer site. And if you’re a business owner building a site for yourself, we’ve partnered with Shopify to make integration even easier.
Ready to try the Google Pay app? Get it on Google Play today.
