When Microsoft Wallet was announced in 2012, it was touted as being the “most complete wallet experience” with support for credit and debit cards, membership and loyalty cards, and more. Fast-forward to 2016, and it looks like Microsoft Wallet will soon gain a major new mobile payments feature.
Microsoft is prepping Wallet 2.0, and with that update, it will give its app Tap to Pay functionality. The folks at Windows Central got hold of an internal build of Wallet 2.0 and not only successfully added a Bank of America debit card to a Lumia 950, but also used it to pay for food at McDonald’s.
Paying with Wallet 2.0 and Tap to Pay works much like you’d expect. Once the register is ready for you to pay, you tap your phone to the NFC-enabled terminal and your payment will go through. Afterward, you’ll get a push notification with information about your payment. It’s expected that Tap to Pay with Wallet 2.0 will work most places that already accept NFC payments.
Wallet 2.0 will also have a section for loyalty cards. If you’ve got a card from a supported retailer, you can scan it or enter your info manually and then have the card added to your digital wallet. You can also add individual cards to your Start screen for quick access. Some of the retailers that support loyalty cards in Wallet 2.0 include Best Buy, AMC Theaters, CVS Pharmacy, Finish Line, GameStop, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Petsmart, Safeway, and Walgreens.
Microsoft hasn’t made any announcements about the Wallet 2.0 update, so it’s not known when it’ll be released to the public. However, rumors suggest that it’ll be included with the Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update that’s coming this summer.
Wallet 2.0 looks like a major app update for Windows 10 Mobile users. While mobile payments are still in their early days, Android and iOS users have been using Tap to Pay for a year or more, so it’s exciting to see that Windows 10 Mobile users will soon be able to do the same. And because Wallet 2.0 will use regular ol’ NFC for its Tap to Pay functionality, Windows 10 Mobile users should have quite a few retailers to try the Wallet 2.0 app at whenever it is released to the public.
