Google announced the official launch of Google Pay and Google Wallet in Saudi Arabia, providing Android users with a secure and convenient way to make digital payments and store essential digital items.

The service, supported by the Kingdom’s national payment system (mada), will be rolled out to all users over the coming weeks.

At launch, customers of Al Rajhi Bank and Riyad Bank will be able to use Google Pay, with additional banks to be added gradually.

Google Pay enables users to make contactless payments in stores through ‘Tap to Pay’, with support for online and in-app payments expected to follow.

Users can also add and manage their mada cards and other payment cards, including Visa and Mastercard, through the Google Wallet application.

Security is a key component of Google Pay, with transactions processed using tokenisation.

This method replaces card details with a unique virtual card number, or token, which is device-specific and accompanied by a dynamic security code that changes with each transaction.

Alongside payments, Google Wallet allows users to securely store and access digital items such as boarding passes, loyalty cards, event tickets and more, keeping them accessible in one place directly from their Android device.

Featured image credit: Google