Google Wallet could borrow a handy transit feature for everyday purchases

If you’re a Google Wallet user, you know how convenient it is to pay for things with a simple tap of your phone. Of course, that convenience comes with a side of vulnerability, and that’s precisely why Google Wallet always requires you to verify your identity before completing a payment.

This verification stays valid for a few minutes before timing out, forcing users to verify their identity again to make subsequent contactless payments. This isn’t a huge inconvenience, but it’s something Google likely wants to give more flexibility around regardless.

The tech giant appears to be working on giving contactless payments the same verification flexibility it already offers for transit payments, and we’ve found clues pointing to it in Google Wallet version 26.42.1003171897.

To understand what might be changing, you first need to grasp how Google Wallet’s verification requirement works. To make a Google Wallet contactless payment, you need to verify your identity using a supported screen lock method. This can be whatever you unlock your phone with: a PIN, pattern, password, or class 3 biometrics like fingerprints or face unlock. Once you unlock your phone, simply holding it near a payment terminal completes the transaction.

This verification, in Google’s own words, remains valid for a “few minutes,” and if you need to make another payment, you will be asked to verify your identity again. Interestingly, this even applies if you opened the Google Wallet app after unlocking your device using a class 1 or class 2 biometric like Smart Unlock or Knock to Unlock.

This can be an annoyance for some, and although users already have a way around the verification requirement, it doesn’t apply to regular contactless payments. For reference, under Wallet settings > Verification settings, Google Wallet users have the option to disable the verification requirement for supported transit systems. Disabling verification essentially means you can tap and pay for rides without having to first unlock your phone. This exception doesn’t extend to regular contactless payments, and that’s precisely what Google appears to be looking into.

Google Wallet’s next trick could save you a few taps at checkout

In the latest Google Wallet build, we were able to manually enable a new Tap to pay entry in the aforementioned verification exception page, as seen in the images above. “Choose if you’ll need to verify it’s you when using your items stored in Wallet,” reads the page, with Tap to pay listed right below.

The addition suggests that Google could be working on introducing a transit-like verification exemption for regular contactless purchases. If this does materialize into an actual feature, it will, of course, have its drawbacks. Disabling verification for payments could introduce security risks when someone gets hold of your phone, though we’re expecting Google to introduce necessary safeguards for such scenarios.

Tapping the new Tap to pay entry currently triggers a Google Wallet crash, so we can’t confirm what, if any, safeguards will be in place.

The feature is still in development, and we’re uncertain if and when Google plans to roll it out.