PayPal ends Google Wallet integration
PayPal announces the end of integration with Google Wallet. This will be a problem, especially for Sparkasse customers with smartwatches.
(Image: heise medien)
Without much fanfare, PayPal is ending support for linking accounts with the payment service provider to Google Wallet. New integrations will no longer be possible from the end of March. This will become a problem in the foreseeable future for Sparkasse customers with Android-based smartwatches who want to pay contactlessly.
Information about the end of Google Wallet support can be found inconspicuously on a PayPal FAQ page. PayPal states that interested parties can now pay in stores using PayPal's own app. The NFC function for mobile, contactless payment has been available in it since May last year.
Existing integrations will continue for now
Since nothing will change for PayPal integrations in Google Wallet created by March 31, 2026, many users will only notice with a delay that this option no longer exists. This becomes apparent, especially when customers switch their smartphone or smartwatch after this date. PayPal explains: "If you remove PayPal from Google Wallet, replace your phone, or reset your device, you will no longer be able to link PayPal with Google Wallet after March 31, 2026."
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Sparkasse customers with Android smartwatches will have a problem
For Sparkasse customers, integration of PayPal in Google Wallet is often the only way to pay contactlessly using an Android smartwatch. Another option, specifically for Samsung devices, involves activating Samsung Wallet and a virtual "Samsung Pay Card" that can be linked to the Sparkasse account. However, many shy away from this effort, as it requires opening additional accounts and payment information ends up with even more providers. The PayPal app is not available for smartwatches. If PayPal sticks to this decision, Sparkasse customers will therefore definitely lose the ability to pay with their smartwatch via NFC in some time. In addition, new smartphones or smartwatches are usually due after a few years, and resetting devices due to potential problems is not unrealistic – and at the latest then the current integrations will expire.
In the USA, Google already banned PayPal from Google Wallet in mid-2025. This affected not only new integrations, but Google also cut existing PayPal integrations in Google Wallet there on June 13, 2025. However, the background to this is unclear.
(dmk)
