Google Pay, the global digital wallet service by Google, has officially launched in Bangladesh, ushering in a new era of contactless payment technology in the country.
The service has been introduced in partnership with City Bank and supported by international card networks Mastercard and Visa.
City Bank becomes the first financial institution in Bangladesh to be directly integrated with Google Pay.
To use the service, customers must have an Android smartphone with NFC (Near Field Communication) capability and download the Google Pay app from the Play Store.
Once installed, users can add their City Bank-issued Mastercard or Visa card by following a simple verification process. After that, making a payment is as easy as unlocking the phone and tapping it on any NFC-enabled point-of-sale (POS) terminal.
This tap-to-pay technology allows users to make fast, secure payments without the need for a physical card.
It works at retail stores, restaurants, and other merchants equipped with compatible POS systems, both in Bangladesh and abroad.
Transactions are secured using advanced tokenisation and encryption, ensuring that the actual card number is never shared with the merchant. Instead, a unique virtual number is generated for each transaction, minimising the risk of fraud.
At this initial phase, the service is limited to City Bank customers.
However, the launch signals the beginning of broader adoption across the financial sector.
Google is not charging any fees for transactions made through Google Pay in Bangladesh, making it a cost-free solution for both users and merchants.
With this launch, analysts say, Bangladesh takes a significant step forward in digital financial innovation, giving users a faster, safer, and more convenient way to pay– simply with a tap of their smartphone.