After debuting on the Fitbit Ace LTE, Google Wallet with tap-to-pay will be available next year for kids using Family Link-managed Android devices. The news comes after Google first added the feature to its kid-focused Fitbit Ace LTE fitness tracker in August.
Google tells us today that supervised kids in Family Link will be able to download the Google Wallet app on their Android phones. This will allow them to make tap-to-pay transactions in stores. They won’t, however, be able to use cards saved in Google Wallet for online payments.
Parents can supervise children’s accounts via the Google Family Link app that lets parents set restrictions for content and screen time, and added the ability to see when kids leave school and arrive home in 2022. Meanwhile, their Family Link app will let them view recent transaction history and remotely remove a card, as well as block passes.
Kids will be able to make tap-to-pay purchases using standard authentication options, including fingerprint, facial recognition, PIN, or passwords. They can also use Google Wallet to store gift cards and event tickets, but they can’t make online purchases or save health or identification cards.
Google already built a lot of this infrastructure out for its Wear OS-powered kids smartwatch earlier this year, noting the “the positive response of tap-to-pay on Fitbit Ace LTE.” The company emphasizes how this “new experience is built with safety in mind.”
Google’s kids’ payments feature will start rolling out to Google Wallet users in the US and several other countries next year.With the move, Google is catching up with Apple, whose Apple Cash Family service already lets children use Apple Pay for purchases in stores. It also lets kids buy things online as well as send and receive money through messages.