Old Google Pay app rebrand to Google Wallet rolling out now

Google Wallet is rolling out today as an update to the old Google Pay app as promised at I/O 2022 in May. During the conference, Google touted the new Wallet app as one that could take the place of your physical wallet by storing your credit cards, debit cards, boarding passes, loyalty cards, vaccination records, and even virtual car keys.

As 9to5Google confirms the update completely rebrands the old Google Pay app that has the multi-color “G” and “Pay” on a white background, not to be confused with the newer GPay app that rolled out last year with money management capabilities and peer-to-peer payments. As if this wasn’t confusing enough, the Google Pay payment service will retain its name – just like Apple has a Wallet app and the “Apple Pay” service – but the app itself will be called Wallet. The GPay app will also remain available in the U.S., Singapore, and India.

The new Wallet experience will be available in over 40 countries and features your credit and debit cards in a carousel at the top, with a list of passes underneath. The order of the credit cards can be edited and you can add more passes by tapping on the “Add to Wallet” button directly in the Wallet app on wherever you see the “Add to Google Wallet” button online on in other apps. Later this year, you will be able to store hotel keys, office badges, state IDs, and mobile driver’s licenses – although that last one depends on your state’s DMV.

The new Wallet app (v 2.150.460235810)is rolling out now via the Play Store, although not widely yet. The update wasn’t available to me yet, but as 9to5 notes, if you are so inclined, you can always sideload it APK Mirror today. I’m still slightly confused as to what the purpose is of having two Google Pay apps (“Wallet” and “GPay”), but I’m hoping Google plans to combine both apps into one in the future.