Singapore is third country to launch Google's Android Pay

Singapore

GOOGLE'S Android Pay mobile payment service will be available from Tuesday, offering contactless MasterCard and Visa payments through the cards issued by five banks here, as well as future support for gift and loyalty cards from local businesses.

Singapore is the first in Asia to get Android Pay, following the launch of the payment service in the United States last September and in the United Kingdom last month.

Android Pay is the third major digital wallet service to enter the local market, after Apple Pay in May and Samsung Pay two weeks ago.

Alternatives to these three include the locally available UOB Mighty and Singtel Dash payment platforms.

The digital wallets by Apple, Samsung and Google store data of a user's credit card on the phone, and use wireless near-field communication (NFC) technology to transmit secure data between the phone and the p…