Android Pay/Google Wallet

In Google's continuous effort to push their mobile tap-to-pay payments, Android Pay is to be released in the next few weeks. In the current Google Wallet application, I got the following screen:

As a current and avid user of Google Wallet, I certainly clicked on LEARN MORE. Essentially, Google Wallet will be a prepaid debit card/account which can be funded by your bank account. It will allow users to send/receive money (similarly to PayPal and Venmo); a great feature since most people have a Google account already. You can still use your nifty Google Wallet Mastercard Debit card:

Everything else currently handled by Google Wallet, including loyalty/gift cards and the tap-to-pay system, will be part of the new Android Pay. Android Pay will also handle mobile payments within applications and sites with their "secure" API.

The separation of the two products will most likely allow Google to focus on improving the mobile payment experience, which has not been updated in a long time as Google Wallet. Improvements will certainly include fingerprint security and seamless customer loyalty connections while making payments (instead of scanning a loyalty card or giving your phone number). This could allow smaller business implement a loyalty program and/or recognize their most-loyal customers.

But as a Samsung Galaxy S6 user, I'm much more excited for Samsung Pay as I wouldn't have to worry about compatibility wherever I go (since it can basically mimic a magnetic card swipe, LoopPay technology). The downside? Not sure how it will handle loyalty cards or if gift cards will be at all compatible.