Android Pay Launches In Taiwan & Canada, More Countries To Join

Android Pay in Canada goes live with eight banks, as Google's Canada Blog has announced that it has begun to roll out the service to users to bring mobile payments to Canada. Latest update, however, says that Android Pay is also available in Taiwan.

The tap-and-go payment service is coming with support for two banks in Taiwan, CTBC, and First Bank, but Google says that it will make service available to Hua Nan Bank, Shin Kong Bank and EnTie Commercial Bank soon. As with the Android Pay rollout in other locations, the pay service can be also be used in popular stores across the country.

Android Pay has launched in Canada on Wednesday, with support for a number of major banks, and additional banks to be added soon. The Android Pay debut in Canada was shown off at Google's I/O developer conference keynote previously this month.

The launch of Android Pay in Canada includes support for Visa and MasterCard credit, as well as Interac debit cards, starting June 5, from leading national banks BMO, CIBC and Scotiabank, as well as from smaller regional and specialist institutions, as reported by Huffington Post. Android devices running on the version 4.4 of the OS or higher will add cards from these banks and make mobile payments at compatible, tap-enabled terminals.

To recall, according to Android Authority, Android Pay lets users make quick-and-easy in-store purchases without needing to enter credit card details. After downloading the app and setting it up, the user can simply tap their NFC-equipped smartphone on compatible terminals to make payments.

Android Pay first launched in the U.S. in 2015, and now it is rolling out to additional markets gradually, covering 12 in total. Other new markets coming online this year include Brazil, Russia, and Spain. Google, along with Android Pay facility, will also offer improved loyalty card integration on the merchant side.