GTBank and Squad go live with Google Pay as it launches in Nigeria
- GTBank debit cards can now be saved in Google Wallet and used to pay online at home and abroad.
- Squad merchants can accept Google Pay from customers in Nigeria and overseas from day one.
- GTCO says the move cuts the number of abandoned online purchases for small businesses.
GTBank customers can now save their debit cards in Google Wallet and pay online with Google Pay, the bank's parent company Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) said. The service went live the same day Google Pay launched in Nigeria.
Businesses that collect payments through Squad, the gateway run by GTCO's payments arm HabariPay, can also accept Google Pay at checkout from the first day. That means the group sits on both sides of the same transaction: the person paying and the business being paid.
For an ordinary customer, the difference is fewer things to type. Once a GTBank debit card is added to Google Wallet on an Android phone or through a Google account, the shopper picks Google Pay at checkout, chooses the card and confirms. No card number, expiry date or CVV needs to be entered again.
The card number is swapped for a digital token, so the shop or website does not see the real card details. GTCO said the card can be used anywhere Google Pay is accepted online, including subscriptions, flight and hotel bookings, food delivery, bills and other digital services.
What it means for small businesses
On Squad, "Pay with Google Pay" now appears at the top of the checkout, next to card, bank transfer, USSD and other options. Google Pay is switched on by default for every Squad merchant, and a business can choose to turn it off.
Merchants already set up to receive international payments can take Google Pay from buyers anywhere in the world, including Nigerians abroad. GTCO's argument is that each extra field at checkout is a chance for a customer to give up, and that shorter checkouts matter most to the small businesses that make up much of Squad's users.
"Most failed online payments are not refused, they are abandoned," said GTCO's group chief executive, Segun Agbaje. He said the group wanted to be ready on both sides from day one.
Eduofon Japhet, managing director of HabariPay, said merchants get Google Pay inside the checkout they already use, so there is nothing new to integrate.
The launch brings GTCO's bank and payments businesses onto the same checkout, a point Agbaje tied to the group's structure.
What happens next
GTBank customers can add an eligible debit card through the Google Wallet app or their Google account. Squad merchants can choose to turn Google Pay off. The real test will be whether shoppers adopt it and whether fewer abandoned carts follow, something merchants will watch in the coming months.
