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You can now save event tickets and boarding passes in Google Pay
- Google Pay now supports ticketing and boarding pass information saved directly to the app.
- The ticketing information can be updated in real time, perfect for flight delays and event changes.
- Brands will also soon be able to notify you of event changes and cancellations right on your phone.
The Google I/O 2018 keynote is over, but that doesn’t mean I/O doesn’t still have news to drop. For example, Google recently announced (via Venture Beat) that you’ll be able to save your event tickets and boarding passes in the Google Pay app, giving you easy access to your ticketing information.
You could already use Google Pay to buy transit tickets in certain areas of the world, like London and Las Vegas. But this new feature is now open to any company who wants to integrate the Google Pay API into its app.
As far as flights go, Google is already working with major companies like Southwest and Singapore Airlines. You’ll be able to use Google Pay to buy your flight tickets, and then your boarding pass will automatically appear in the Google Pay app on your phone.
This will not only give you the ability to quickly find and show your boarding pass as you enter the plane, but it will also give you real-time info. If your flight is delayed, your boarding pass will show the correct time.
With event tickets, the feature will work similarly. Your ticket will save to the Google Pay app and automatically update if the event changes. For example, if you have tickets to a concert and the opening act is changed to a different band, the ticket would automatically reflect that change. Google has already partnered with Eventbrite for these new features.
Aside from the convenience of having everything in one app, this also gives two significant advantages to both users and brands. The first is that Google Pay can integrate with your phone’s NFC chip, which would give you the ability to simply hold your phone up to a scanner to gain entry into the event venue or airport. This is far more secure (and easier) than scanning on-screen QR codes.
The second advantage is that Google is working on ways for brands to message Google Pay users who have purchased a product. An example advantage to this would be a venue having the ability to alert concert-goers that the event has been canceled via a pop-up notification right on their phone. This is way better than an email that might get lost in the clutter or go to an unchecked address.
It looks like Google is going all-in with Google Pay, which is refreshing after the dismal support the company offered to both Android Pay and Google Wallet. It seems like putting everything under one branding and giving it focus really works. Now about your chat apps, Google…