# Google Wallet 22 Hacker News commenters recommended Google Wallet and 34 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. **Verdict:** People use it to pay by tap, store cards and passes, and replace a physical wallet. Critics say it is blocked on custom Android systems and tied to Google. ## Why people recommend it - Replaces physical wallet and loyalty cards (4 comments): "It's surprisingly convenient not to have to have my wallet with me whenever I leave the house." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49341800)) "every independent coffee shop I go to is able to credit me a loyalty point" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46803219)) "I can use Google wallet to tap to use my loyalty card and pay" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46805450)) - Tap to pay without unlocking (3 comments): "NFC payments via Google Wallet running on my Pixel Watch 3 connected to a phone running GrapheneOS works just fine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46153053)) "Google Wallet even allows the user to set it to not require an unlock for transit transactions." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49474423)) "indeed I can just wave my phone at the terminal without unlocking it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49472519)) - Passes, tickets and custom cards (3 comments): "Google wallet has had the abillity to scan tickets and create custom passes for years." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48023236)) "Anything with a bar code or QR code will work. It's not complicated." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48022887)) "Works great at TSA. You scan it yourself." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45904511)) - Zero-knowledge age verification (2 comments): "the operating system can then perform a zero knowledge proof for each website that the user is over 16" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46224663)) "uses Zero Knowledge Proofs to just verify age without revealing any other personal data" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45939992)) ## What people warn about - Restricted on custom Android systems (4 comments): "payments won't work for now because Google says malware-ridden Oreo handset is safe and secure" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48571759)) "Google is so hostile against modifications, it is not a good feeling that they can pull the rug at any time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47229091)) "some apps like google wallet not only check for attestation, but check if Google's signed it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49910738)) - Tied to Google account and monitoring (5 comments): "They require Google Wallet with the Google Play Services to prove your id on your desktop computer, it's absolute insanity." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46362932)) "Which is why we're putting our entire digital identification infrastructure in the hands of Google and Apple." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48817832)) "Anything to do with Google Wallet passes just forwards me to a Google login page." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46346047)) - Payments fail or get rejected (5 comments): "Last time I tried to add my bank card to the Google wallet, it worked for a few days and then stopped." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49132043)) "they were treating the tapping double charging being rejected as erroneous and banning the cards" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48022676)) "Google Wallet does not support NFC payments due to restrictions that Google imposes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47488849)) - Breaks on edge cases (2 comments): "I'm surprised how terrible all of these major wallet apps are at handling the slightest of edge cases." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46353304)) "There was an option for exporting to Google Wallet but it kept failing" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49937675)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Wero](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wero.md): 84 recommend - [Apple Pay](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-pay.md): 73 recommend - [Google Pay](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-pay.md): 26 recommend - [Curve Pay](https://hackerapproved.com/p/curve.md): 22 recommend - [Swish payment app](https://hackerapproved.com/p/swish.md): 19 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://accounts.google.com/v3/signin/identifier?continue=https://wallet.google.com/wallet?p%3Dwallethome&followup=https://wallet.google.com/wallet?p%3Dwallethome&osid=1&passive=1209600&flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=ServiceLogin&dsh=S403139986:1793623621740433) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Google Wallet", https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-wallet/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).