Google Wallet
Shares rank 5 of 17 mobile payment apps by recommenders
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.
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.
56 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 22
- criticize it
- 34
- approval share
- 39%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 22 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Replaces physical wallet and loyalty cards
“It's surprisingly convenient not to have to have my wallet with me whenever I leave the house.”
Comment from 18 Aug 2026 in “How do I permanently disable Google Photos pop-up prompt to backup my photos?” “every independent coffee shop I go to is able to credit me a loyalty point”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Amazone One palm authentication discontinued” “I can use Google wallet to tap to use my loyalty card and pay”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Amazone One palm authentication discontinued” - Comment from 5 May 2026 in “iOS 27 is adding a 'Create a Pass' button to Apple Wallet”
Tap to pay without unlocking
“NFC payments via Google Wallet running on my Pixel Watch 3 connected to a phone running GrapheneOS works just fine.”
Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “Bootloader Unlock Wall of Shame” “Google Wallet even allows the user to set it to not require an unlock for transit transactions.”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” “indeed I can just wave my phone at the terminal without unlocking it”
Comment from 27 Aug 2026 in “Suica, Japan's First IC Transit Card” Passes, tickets and custom cards
“Google wallet has had the abillity to scan tickets and create custom passes for years.”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “iOS 27 is adding a 'Create a Pass' button to Apple Wallet” “Anything with a bar code or QR code will work. It's not complicated.”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “iOS 27 is adding a 'Create a Pass' button to Apple Wallet” “Works great at TSA. You scan it yourself.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Digital ID, a new way to create and present an ID in Apple Wallet” Zero-knowledge age verification
“the operating system can then perform a zero knowledge proof for each website that the user is over 16”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Australia begins enforcing world-first teen social media ban” “uses Zero Knowledge Proofs to just verify age without revealing any other personal data”
Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “Lawmakers want to ban VPNs”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Restricted on custom Android systems
“payments won't work for now because Google says malware-ridden Oreo handset is safe and secure”
Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17 and official releases are coming soon” “Google is so hostile against modifications, it is not a good feeling that they can pull the rug at any time.”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “I've been running GrapheneOS on my Pixel Fold for over half a year” “some apps like google wallet not only check for attestation, but check if Google's signed it”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Upgrade your desktop: Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS is now available” - Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “I've been running GrapheneOS on my Pixel Fold for over half a year”
Tied to Google account and monitoring
“They require Google Wallet with the Google Play Services to prove your id on your desktop computer, it's absolute insanity.”
Comment from 23 Dec 2025 in “Things I learnt about passkeys when building passkeybot” “Which is why we're putting our entire digital identification infrastructure in the hands of Google and Apple.”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Europe's company websites are mostly served by US vendors” “Anything to do with Google Wallet passes just forwards me to a Google login page.”
Comment from 21 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: WalletWallet – create Apple passes from anything” - Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Google is 'gradually rolling out' option to change your gmail.com address”
- Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Motorola announces a partnership with GrapheneOS Foundation”
Payments fail or get rejected
“Last time I tried to add my bank card to the Google wallet, it worked for a few days and then stopped.”
Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “Show HN: Gander, an Android file viewer that asks for no permissions at all” “they were treating the tapping double charging being rejected as erroneous and banning the cards”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “iOS 27 is adding a 'Create a Pass' button to Apple Wallet” “Google Wallet does not support NFC payments due to restrictions that Google imposes”
Comment from 23 Mar 2026 in “GrapheneOS will remain usable by anyone without requiring personal information” - Comment from 2 Oct 2026 in “Apple Pass Designer”
- Comment from 17 Jun 2026 in “GrapheneOS has been ported to Android 17 and official releases are coming soon”
Breaks on edge cases
“I'm surprised how terrible all of these major wallet apps are at handling the slightest of edge cases.”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: WalletWallet – create Apple passes from anything” “There was an option for exporting to Google Wallet but it kept failing”
Comment from 2 Oct 2026 in “Apple Pass Designer”
Other mobile payment apps people recommend
The four most recommended other mobile payment apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wero | 84 | 96 | 47% | 11 | — | — |
| Apple Pay | 73 | 48 | 60% | 12 | — | — |
| Apple Wallet | 58 | 63 | 48% | 10 | — | — |
| Google Pay | 26 | 33 | 44% | 11 | — | — |
| Google WalletThis page | 22 | 34 | 39% | 8 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 59 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Both apple/google restrict it and only few very big retailers are using it.”
“There was an option for exporting to Google Wallet but it kept failing”
“some apps like google wallet not only check for attestation, but check if Google's signed it”
“I really only miss Google Wallet.”
“Google Wallet even allows the user to set it to not require an unlock for transit transactions.”
“indeed I can just wave my phone at the terminal without unlocking it”
“the lack of google wallet support”
“It's surprisingly convenient not to have to have my wallet with me whenever I leave the house.”
“Zero planning, zero extra”
“Last time I tried to add my bank card to the Google wallet, it worked for a few days and then stopped.”
“Which is why we're putting our entire digital identification infrastructure in the hands of Google and Apple.”
“payments won't work for now because Google says malware-ridden Oreo handset is safe and secure”
“However Wallet didn't like this setup. Tokens expired at varying delays”
“allows to name a card, so choosing between identical-looking cards of the same bank is easy”
“Easier than my physical wallet tbh”
“Google wallet has had the abillity to scan tickets and create custom passes for years.”
“Anything with a bar code or QR code will work. It's not complicated.”
“they were treating the tapping double charging being rejected as erroneous and banning the cards”
“Google Wallet does not support NFC payments due to restrictions that Google imposes”
“Google is so hostile against modifications, it is not a good feeling that they can pull the rug at any time.”
“Google needs to whitelist graphene basically to work in the wallet app.”
“This is an incredibly anti-competitive move aimed at supporting Google's monopoly”
“I don't want Google monitoring my payments so I'm using Samsung now”
“It's just so damned convenient.”
“I can use Google wallet to tap to use my loyalty card and pay”
“every independent coffee shop I go to is able to credit me a loyalty point”
“I believe either banking apps or Google Wallet, a known issue.”
“This tripped some security indicator requiring me to upload government-issued ID.”
“They require Google Wallet with the Google Play Services to prove your id on your desktop computer, it's absolute insanity.”
“I'm surprised how terrible all of these major wallet apps are at handling the slightest of edge cases.”
“Google Wallet has this feature builtin.”
“Anything to do with Google Wallet passes just forwards me to a Google login page.”
“the operating system can then perform a zero knowledge proof for each website that the user is over 16”
“NFC payments via Google Wallet running on my Pixel Watch 3 connected to a phone running GrapheneOS works just fine.”
“uses Zero Knowledge Proofs to just verify age without revealing any other personal data”
“Works great at TSA. You scan it yourself.”
“Apple Wallet and Google Wallet both support a more fancy setup”
“Useful for giving a family member a limited expense card”
“To me it's a biggest missing feature to date”
“Google Wallet is practically a glorified card number vault”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.