Your Google Wallet funds are now FDIC-insured

It can sometimes be scary to entrust online companies with your money, but Google’s doing everything in their power to make sure you won’t ever be burned for doing business with them. The latest move for Google Wallet is to store funds in banks that are FDIC-insured, at least according to information reportedly received by Yahoo straight from an unnamed Google rep.

In case you aren’t aware, the FDIC is a government-spawned insurance agency that was put in place to protect citizens’ fortunes in the unfortunate event that a bank crashes.

So what does this mean? Should Google or the bank holding your funds ever cease to exist (the chances of that happening are very slim in the here and now, we’d say, especially since no FDIC-insured bank has gone under since its arrival in 1934) you can be sure your money won’t go down with them.

On the outside looking in, life with Google Wallet will go on as it always has, but now you get just a bit of added peace of mind knowing your money is just as safe with Google as it is with your favorite big bank.

Google Wallet update brings Maps integration and keyword search

Google Wallet is adding a few small, but pretty worthwhile new features in the Google Play Store today. Announced on their Google+ page, Wallet won’t just tell you where you bought something, they’ll actually show you. This is done using Google Maps which has now been integrated into the app and viewable in the transaction details.

Now the next feature is even more useful. Imagine it’s several weeks later and you can’t for the life of you remember where it was you had those amazing tacos during a drunken night out with your friends. You could scroll through all your transactions like an animal, keeping an eye out for anything related to Mexican eateries.

Or, like a future-man, you can simply search through your transaction history by merchant name, item of purchase, or any other keywords. Type in “bomb tacos” and you’ll pull up a transaction — now with a handy Maps location — of that amazing hole-in-the-wall.

The update should already be waiting for you in the Google Play Store, so make sure you update and happy shopping.

Google Wallet (Playboard) | Google Wallet (Play Store)

Google Wallet teams up with ChowNow to provide easier online ordering for restaurants across the US

After an update to the Android app on Friday brought both Maps integration and keyword search, Google Wallet continues its expansion across the US with ChowNow partnership. ChowNow is an online ordering platform for small businesses that provides convenient to-go orders and marketing for independent mom-n-pop restaurants.

Starting today, all of ChowNow’s clients — which include thousands of restaurants across the US — will now accept Google Wallet at checkout. When buying online from a restaurant with ChowNow, you’ll run into the “Buy with Google” button on their site and with a single tap, you can on your way to bringing some kickin’ kung pow chicken home for dinner. Because really, nobody likes manually punching in their credit card info.

While it’s sure a thousand restaurants around the US may not sound like much, but it’s a small step into making our lives easier and more convenient. At this point, we’ll take whatever we can get.

[ChowNow]

Google announces Android Pay to replace Google Wallet

Today during its keynote, Google officially unveiled Android Pay as the successor to Google Wallet, it’s long standing attempt to break into the mobile payments market. Android Pay will power both in-app and tap-to-pay purchases on mobile devices. As for Google Wallet, it’ll still be around, but instead it will focus on accepting payments outside of the mobile web.

Several partners have been announced with the new service, including the major credit and debit card issuers, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover. Android Pay will work exactly like Google Wallet, where you simply tap your smartphone to any NFC terminal in order to pay your bill. Your credit card information isn’t shared with the store, adding another layer of protection for the security conscious.

While Android Pay was unveiled during Google’s big Android M developer preview, it was confirmed that the service will work on all devices on KitKat and above. Perhaps the biggest news for developers is that Android Pay will be available to developers to integrate payment functionality from the service into their own apps. Uber and Lyft are two examples of apps that will utilize Android Pay in the future, rather than relying on typing in credit card information.

The short list of app partners Google showcased during the presentation include:

• Dominos


• Chipotle


• Dunkin’ Donuts


• Etsy


• GrubHub


• B&H


• Yelp Eat 24


• Expedia


• Groupon


• Travelocity


• Uber


• Lyft


• Wish


• Hotels.com Hotel Tonight


• Newegg


• Orbitz