Here’s when Google’s Android Pay will finally arrive in the UK

When Google hits the contactless payment market, it has the benefit Android Pay will be available to lots of smartphone owners, as Android now accounts for more than half of such devices sold in the UK.

The Telegraph claim that Google is set to announce that Android Pay will be available in Britain from the end of next month as it looks to increase the global presence of the service.

However, consumers will have more services to choose from by the end of 2016.

Android Pay works in a manner similar to Apple Pay. But Android Pay found some success in with its U.S. launch back in September, so is poised to rollout the service in the UK.

Android Pay is largely identical to Apple Pay – load your credit card details onto the app and you can then use it via PIN machines equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC).

Would you use Android Pay? The system is expected to launch with support from the major banks and also major payment providers like Visa and MasterCard. “The UK is seen as a battleground for mobile payments because of the high take-up of card payments and wide availability of contactless terminals”, writes the Telegraph.

By using magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology, new Samsung devices will be able to emit signals that mimic the action of a card being swiped through the terminal, allowing users to pay with their phones nearly anywhere.

But things are about to get crowded in the mobile payments arena.