A smartphone with the Apple Pay and Google Pay logos is placed on a laptop in this illustration taken on July 14, 2021. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic

JERUSALEM, December 7 (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google Pay was launched in Israel on Tuesday, with major Israeli banks and credit card companies claiming to have signed deals with Google to offer the new payment service .

The service will allow Android mobile phone users to pay for products in stores that allow contactless payments.

Some 70% of Israelis have Android-based phones – according to Israeli media, which could be a big market for Google Pay, which has around 150 million users in more than 40 countries around the world.

In May, Apple’s Apple Pay (AAPL.O) launched in Israel, where 30% of people have iPhones. Read more

It is estimated that two-thirds of payment terminals in Israel support the wireless payment standard that allows payments by mobile phone, smart watch or credit card, according to data from the Bank of Israel.

Shva, the company that processes credit card payments in Israel, said 58.1% of credit card purchases in October were contactless and through digital wallets, reaching NIS 373.8 million (118.5 millions of dollars).

Shva said the volume of purchases through digital wallets has grown 20 times in the past half year since Apple Pay entered the market.

“The entry of Google Pay will lead to a further increase in digital wallets,” said Shva CEO Eitan Lev Tov.

Major Israeli banks and credit card companies, which issue Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards, have said in individual statements that they have signed the agreements with Google to offer Google Pay, with some banks handing over money. money to customers for using the service.

($ 1 = NIS 3.1546)

Report by Steven Scheer. Editing by Jane Merriman

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