Google’s Android Pay has launched in the UK, becoming the first country outside of the US to accept the tap-and-go contactless payment service. The service will initially support payments from MasterCard and Visa cards from the Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA and Nationwide Building Society.

Android smartphones account for 54 per cent of the market share in the UK, and phones supporting Android 4.4 KitKat software or later and near field communications (NFC) will be able to use the new payment system.

Once users have downloaded the Android Pay app and uploaded their card details, they will be able to buy goods and services across the UK’s 460,000 contactless terminals, including London’s transport network. Some apps, including JD Sports, Deliveroo and YPlan, will also support the new service, offering an alternative to the traditional checkout method.

Like Apple Pay, users of Android Pay will only be able to tap-and-pay for goods costing less than £30. For payments over £30, consumers must authenticate the payment by unlocking their smartphone with either a pin, unlock pattern or fingerprint.

Android Pay also uses tokenisation technology, meaning that the user’s credit card information is never sent, and transactions are immediately confirmed to protect payment information from fraud.

Dave Hobday, managing director at Worldpay, commented: “Today’s launch of Android Pay in the UK marks a tipping point in the adoption of mobile wallets among people in Britain. With Android devices accounting for over half the UK smartphone market, the majority of consumers now have mobile NFC at their fingertips.”

The release follows the news that Barclays has launched its own mobile payments technology for Android devices, which will be feature in the Barclays mobile banking app.

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