Google Payment App GPay to Shut Down: App to Cease Operations in this Country After June 4, No Changes in India

Google has announced the closure of its payment app, GPay, which facilitates online financial transactions. This payment app from Google will cease operations in the United States on June 4, 2024. The company has made this decision to promote the Google Wallet app, which was launched in 2022. Indian users of GPay need not worry about this development as the shutdown is limited to the United States only. 

After June 4, the GPay app will continue to function solely in India and Singapore. GPay’s standalone app will not be available in other countries beyond this date.

Transition from GPay to Google Wallet in the U.S.

As per the company’s blog post, Google Wallet has more users than GPay in the United States. Starting from June 4, the standalone Google Pay app will become obsolete in the U.S. All users will be encouraged to transfer to Google Wallet, which offers popular features like in-store tap-to-pay and payment method management. In the U.S., Google Wallet sees over five times more usage compared to Google Pay.

Following the closure of GPay, American users won’t be able to send or receive money through the app. The company advises U.S. users to shift to the Google Wallet app. Google assures its users of regular updates and the ability to transfer their GPay balances to their accounts even after June 4, 2024. Users will need to use the Google Pay website for this purpose.

Google also announced in the blog that GPay will be replaced by Google Wallet in 180 countries. Users will be able to use Google Wallet app for Google Pay services. Google Wallet doesn’t support debit and credit card top-ups via GPay but provides a range of services including transport passes, state IDs, driver’s licenses, and virtual car keys instead.

Google’s History of Payment App Shutdowns

Google has made the decision to shut down its payment app many times before, marking this as not the first instance when Google has decided to discontinue its payment app. The company launched Google Wallet in 2011, followed by the introduction of Android Pay in 2015, which integrated Google Wallet. Then, in 2016, Google discontinued the Google Wallet card.

Now, the company has once again decided to integrate all its services into Google Wallet. Google initially launched the Tez app in India, which was later rebranded as Google Pay. Today, it is available on the Google Play Store under the name GPay. In India, UPI payments can be made through the Google Pay app. This move consolidates Google’s payment services into one platform.