At the Google for India event last year, Google announced several new features coming to Google Pay in the country. Among these was tokenized card support, which was designed to enable seamless transactions with credit/debit cards on the app. Now, over a year since the initial announcement, Google is finally rolling out tokenized card support on Google Pay.

As per a press release shared by the company, Google Pay users in India will now be able to easily transact with their cards on the app and make use of the NFC-based tap-to-pay feature. With the new tokenization feature, Google Pay users will be able to store their credit or debit card details on the app and make payments through a secure digital token attached to their phone. The feature will ensure that users don't have to share their card details with merchants, thereby preventing misuse.

Google Pay users will be able to use this new feature with both in-store and online merchants. Furthermore, Google has also enabled support for a tap-to-pay feature in the app, which will allow users with NFC capable devices to make contactless payments using Google Pay. Speaking about the new feature, Sajith Sivanandan, Business Head: Google Pay and NBU - India, said:

"We're committed to offer the most secure payments experience to our growing base of users, and tokenization helps tor replace sensitive data such as credit and debit card numbers with tokens, eliminating any chance of fraud. We are hopeful that the tokenization feature will further encourage users to transact securely and safely in the current times, and expand merchant transactions both online and offline."

The new tap-to-pay feature in Google Pay has been developed in partnership with Visa and other banking partners, and it's currently available for all Axis and SBI card users. Other banks, including Kotak, are expected to follow suit in the near future. In case you have a supported bank account, you can try the new feature by completing a one-time setup on the app. During the setup process, users will have to enter their card details on the app and then enter the OTP to authorize payments. Once the registration is complete, users will be able to make payments at NFC-enabled terminals.