How to Accept Google Pay at Your Business

November 17, 2022

You’ve heard it everywhere: contactless credit card payments are in and customers want this payment option at your business. But this is a new tech, and as with anything new in technology, learning how to accept Google Pay at your business can sound like a daunting task. In reality, though, Google has made it quite easy to accept touchless payments for businesses, even for those with the most basic tech know-how. All it takes is a little guidance, and today we’ll show you how easy it is to get customers to pay with phones at your place of business or website.

What is Google Pay, and Why Use it?

In the world of contemporary business, one of the hottest topics is accepting credit cards as contactless payments with a smartphone. Once a high-tech novelty, the ability to simply tap your phone at the register has become nearly ubiquitous, showing up everywhere from gas stations to restaurants and beyond. Customers seem to love the ease and security of contactless pay, or as it’s more formally known, near-field communication (NFC) technology.

It’s easy to see why people are flocking to smart phone payments at the register: It’s more sanitary (a major concern these days), it’s super convenient, and it’s better at protecting business against fraudulent payments both because it’s backed by Google’s deep security tech that disguises a customer’s real credit card number and because the customer isn’t swiping anything physical that could be copied, accidentally dropped, or easily stolen. With the “cool” factor of waving your phone in the air to quickly pay, more and more customers are coming to not just desire but actually expect contactless pay from their shopping or dining experiences. As the tech continues to spread, it’s become very important for businesses of all kinds to set up Google Pay for websites and in-store payments, as you never want to lose sales simply because you can’t accept Google Pay or touchless payments.

How to Set Up Google Pay at Your Business

Luckily, it’s extremely easy to set up Google Pay for your business! In most cases, your merchant account provider can provide you with point-of-sale hardware that is ready to accept Google Pay payments at your register without any extra steps on your part. If you are already accepting credit card payments at your business, call your merchant account provider to inquire how they can help you accept contactless payments. If you are a new business, or wanting to switch your merchant services provider, see our recommended merchant accounts as all of them can set you up with touchless payments. In some cases you might have to go through the process directly with Google Pay. In such cases, it’s easy and here’s all you’ll need to doLuckily, it’s extremely easy to set up Google Pay for your business! In most cases, your merchant account provider can provide you with point-of-sale hardware that is ready to accept Google Pay payments at your register without any extra steps on your part. If you are already accepting credit card payments at your business, call your merchant account provider to inquire how they can help you accept contactless payments. If you are a new business, or wanting to switch your merchant services provider, see our recommended merchant accounts as all of them can set you up with touchless payments. Depending on your merchant account provider, you might have to go through the process directly with Google Pay. In such cases, it’s easy and here’s all you’ll need to do

Step 1: Make sure you have a UPI ID from your bank

Contactless pay is enabled through something called a Unified Payments Interface ID, or UPI ID. These are special identifying numbers set up by your bank that allow you to accept Google payments and other NFC payments, and it should only take a short phone call to your bank to get one for your business.

Step 2: Connect your UPI ID to a Virtual Payment Address

Where the UPI ID is what your bank sets up to connect your payments to your account, your Virtual Payment Address is what tells your payment terminals which bank account to deposit the money into. Again, this is very easy to set up in most cases. Once you’ve received your UPI ID from your bank, the bank should be able to tell you which UPI-enabled app works with your UPI ID. If they don’t offer that information up-front, just ask, and then download that app. Now use your UPI ID to sign in to the app, and then follow the app’s instructions to create a VPA. This will involve entering your bank account info, choosing an address name, and creating a PIN for that address.

Step 3: Setup a Google Pay Account on the Google Pay Website

Next, have your VPA and UPI ID ready and head over to the Google Pay setup website. This step requires a free Google account. Typically this will be a business account, but Google allows you to use personal Google accounts as well. Once you visit the Google Pay setup link and sign into your Google account, Google will walk you through the initial setup and ask for your business name, UPI ID, VPA, and an associated phone number.

After you’ve input your business info, Google will attempt to deposit a few cents into your VPA in order to confirm that everything is set up correctly. Google will then prompt you to input the exact amount they deposited, and once you do so correctly, it will complete the Google Pay signup process.

Step 4: Wait for Google Review

At this point, Google will put your submission into its review process, so you’ll simply have to wait a short time for Google to confirm your account. As long as everything has been entered and connected correctly, this should be quick and easy. If there are any issues, Google will contact you and let you know what needs to be fixed before you can start accepting payments

Step 5: Connect Your Google Pay Account to Point of Sale Systems

Now that you have a functioning Google Pay account, you just need to connect it to your in-store payment systems. This will be different depending on what POS or other payment system you are already using, but luckily Google has partnered with the vast majority of POS manufacturers out there to make it simple to set up your POS for NFC payments. Everything from new e-commerce units from Square, to major POS systems like Clover, to EMV card readers from Ingenico, PAX, and Verifone can take NFC payments as long as you have a fairly new machine (from the last few years). If you’re unsure whether your terminals can accept NFC, ask your merchant account provider, and they’ll be able to quickly let you know. You can also purchase your own NFC-ready POS system if you don’t have one already (which is often much cheaper than buying or leasing one from your provider).

When you have your NFC-ready terminal or other system, use its built-in software to point it to your Google Pay account. This may require Googling the setup process or calling your card payment processor, but it’s usually a very straightforward process that you can do just by following the instructions on your machine.

Step 6: Start Accepting Google Pay Payments

You’re ready to take Google Pay payments! This is all it takes to accept Google Pay in your store, and now when a customer goes to check out, they will have the option to tap their phone close to your terminal and avoid all that pesky credit card business.

A note: You can make sure customers know that you accept Google Pay with a free sticker kit from Google, which they will send you and you can put up on your terminals, in your window, and around your business.

About The Author

Phillip Parker

In the late 2000s, as a broke college student struggling to make ends meet, I was contacted by a merchant services company after uploading my resume to a job listings website. This company promised substantial commissions and ongoing residual income for simply persuading businesses to accept credit card payments. It seemed straightforward enough—after all, what business doesn’t need to process credit card payments? Following a phone interview with a persuasive “sales director,” I found myself embarking on what I believed would be an easy job that would significantly boost my bank account with reliable monthly income and large sales commissions. However, the lessons I learned would profoundly change my life in ways I could never have imagined.

After completing my sales training, I hit the ground running, eager to make sales. This broke college student was determined to improve his financial situation! My first attempt at a cold call, with no prior appointment, ended with a burly man in his 50s yelling at me to leave, claiming he had been “totally robbed” by someone like me before. As I hastily exited, puzzled and intimidated by his reaction, I couldn’t help but wonder what he meant. Throughout the day, I encountered similar hostility from other business owners, all expressing disdain for the industry I had been so excited to join that morning. Confused and curious, I decided to shift my approach from selling to listening.

I quickly uncovered that the merchant services sector was riddled with unethical practices, including hidden fees, deceptive marketing, fine-print traps, and much more. It dawned on me that I had nearly been tricked by a dubious company into selling overpriced services under contracts with long-term commitments, all without being fully aware of what I was promoting. Outraged, I resigned from that company but learned that there were indeed ethical credit card processing companies that treated their clients fairly. Over the next four years, I worked for one such company, assisting hundreds of businesses in securing cost-effective processing solutions. Yet, I also met many more who had been misled and trapped in onerous service agreements. Determined to help people steer clear of these unscrupulous providers, I launched this website in my spare time, dedicating myself to researching and sharing my findings on every merchant account provider I could investigate.

Gradually, more and more business owners began to discover my articles. As word spread, search engines started to rank my content highly, amplifying its reach. My efforts were making a difference! Eventually, the website garnered enough traffic to enable me to leave my job and focus on it full-time, a journey that has now spanned over a decade. This path has not been without its challenges; unscrupulous company owners have tried to intimidate and sue me into silence on several occasions. Yet, I have stood firm against each threat. Here I am, continuing to publish reviews and articles, hoping to safeguard others from the pitfalls of the credit card processing industry.

If you believe in my mission and wish to contribute, please share my articles on your websites and social media. Thank you for visiting!

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