Google Wallet now lets you skip verification for certain payments

Google Wallet appears to have received a new feature. That new feature should make the payment process a lot faster in some situations.

As discovered by 9to5Google, the latest version of the Google Wallet app appears to have added a “Verification settings” option. Found within Wallet settings, the new option allows users to choose if they’ll be required to verify their identity when using a payment method or passes with Wallet.

By default, the app requires you to verify your identity before making a payment. But this new feature now lets users toggle this requirement off. While turning off the requirement will make your payments less secure, it will in turn make paying with Wallet a lot faster.

At the moment, it appears users are only able to toggle the requirement off for transit payments. Google adds that if verification is turned off, you won’t need to verify for payment even if your phone is locked. However, you’ll still need to verify for all other types of payments.

This news follows a recent discovery in the Android 15 Developer Preview that newly introduced APIs will allow Android devices to listen to NFC readers without immediately responding. This opens the door for pre-emptive authentication, potentially enabling secure one-tap transactions without authentication.