Earlier today, Android Pay finally launched in the UK. At an I/O session this afternoon, Google announced new features for its contactless payment solution and the ability to use a phone to withdraw money from Bank of America ATMs.
Google has updated the Android Pay website to indicate to support for Citi cards has finally arrived, leaving Capital One as the last card issuer still on the “coming soon” list. Users should be able to add their Citibank-issued cards to their phones and use them for payments immediately.
This brings the list of supported banks and card issuers to 12, including MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Discover. The number of stores accepting Android Pay numbers in the thousands.
The Bank of America Android app has today been updated with a new capability that further lends credibility to rumors that surround the upcoming Nexus devices. Version 6.4 of the Bank of America app for Android adds support for fingerprint sign-in, as well as several other new features.
It has been rumored recently that LG’s upcoming Nexus 5 model will carry support for a rear fingerprint sensor, a capability that is currently supported on flagship devices from companies like HTC and Samsung. It’s also expected that Huawei’s larger Nexus device will carry support for finger scanning, as well.
Other new features of the Bank of America for Android app include improved appointment scheduling, improved check depositing, and your standard set of bug fixes and improvemenets. The update is live on the Play Store now and the full change log is below:
- Fingerprint sign-in is now available on a newly designed home screen
- It’s easier to schedule an appointment with a specialist for help or advice
- Deposit your checks with confidence. Now you’ll see the digital check image immediately on the confirmation screen.
A new report from business weekly Barron’s (via Reuters) claimed The Dow Jones Industrial Average stock index could potentially replace stocks from Alcoa, Bank of America, or Hewlett-Packard with Apple or Google. There’s no exact timeframe for the overhaul of the index, but Barron’s said adding the companies would be complicated due to the fact the Dow calculates the absolute price of shares. Reuters explained that getting Apple would require the company to split its shares:
Apple, whose shares on Friday closed at $603, would overwhelm the index with a 26 percent weighting. That is double the influence of current Dow component IBM, whose $207 stock price gives it a 12 percent weighting in the index, Barron’s said.
Barron’s said the heavy weighting that Apple would command at its current share price could prove a barrier to becoming a Dow component. To guarantee a Dow spot, Barron’s said, Apple would have to split its shares by five-for-one or 10-to-one. But Barron’s noted that Apple has not split its stock since 2005.
