Google Wallet desperately needs this feature Apple Wallet just added

Google Wallet is constantly improving its feature set to become an ultimate destination for storing payment cards, loyalty passes, event tickets, digital credentials, and more. Its recent redesign, upcoming travel features, and contextual loyalty features are proof that Google is serious about making Wallet more useful. Yet, for a Wallet app that does so much, the app is missing one crucial feature, something that Apple is now bringing to its own wallet app.

As spotted in the second iOS 27 beta (via MacRumors), Apple is testing a new feature called “Insights” inside its Wallet app. While it doesn’t appear to be functional yet, onboarding screens suggest users will eventually be able to connect financial accounts and view spending insights, recurring transactions, account balances, and other financial information directly from Wallet.

According to Apple’s description, the feature will use a system run by an Apple-owned subsidiary to fetch and standardize account information from financial institutions, allowing Wallet to present a consolidated view of a user’s finances without storing that information on Apple’s servers.

It’s not hard to see why Apple is interested in this direction. Bringing spending trends, subscriptions, recurring payments, and account balances into the same app where users already store their cards feels like a feature every wallet app should have.

To be fair, Google has experimented with similar ideas before. The erstwhile Google Pay app in the US included transaction history and some spending insights. Google also previously explored broader financial ambitions through its Plex digital banking initiative before abandoning the project. But over the last few years, Google has steadily shifted its focus toward Google Wallet, turning it into an intelligent repository for payment cards, transit passes, IDs, loyalty cards, event tickets, and digital keys.

While all of that is very useful, Google Wallet offers little insight into how you’re actually using payment methods and where your money is going.

If Apple follows through on its plans for Insights, its Wallet could become more than a digital replacement for a physical wallet. It could become a lightweight personal finance hub, challenging many similar third-party expense tracking apps. Instead of opening separate banking apps to check balances, review subscriptions, or understand where their money went last month, users could get much of that information from a single place. Here’s hoping Google takes a cue from Apple and builds something similar in Google Wallet.