Google Pay To Tap Marqeta’s Card-Issuing Platform For Virtual Card

Google Pay

Card-issuing company Marqeta announced in a Thursday (July 29) press release that its platform will fuel the new virtual Google Pay balance card.

The new virtual Google Pay balance card enables users to spend their Google Pay balance through a virtual card tokenized into a mobile wallet, which can be used at participating merchants. In the past, Google Pay balance users could use their balance for person-to-person payments, purchases on eligible Google-owned properties such as the Play Store or YouTube, or they could transfer balances to their bank account. With the new virtual card, Google Pay users can make purchases directly from their Google Pay balance.

“The power of modern card issuing is being able to embed a card into an app like Google Pay and create completely new vectors of commerce that change how consumers relate to their money,” said Marqeta Founder and CEO Jason Gardner. “Marqeta’s modern card issuing platform is designed to be able to help the world’s most innovative companies execute game changing products at scale, and it’s hard to find a company that embodies this more than Google. We’re honored to be working with Google Pay.”

In addition to Google Pay balance cards, Marqeta lists customers including Square, DoorDash and Instacart.

Contactless payments and mobile wallet use skyrocketed during COVID-19 as people have transitioned from paying with cash or physical debit cards. Marqeta’s technology allows cardholders to instantly begin spending, without having to key in card numbers by hand.

Thursday’s announcement follows Marqeta’s $1.23 billion initial public offering (IPO) in June, which saw shares surge by up to 21 percent following its introduction on the public market, as reported by PYMNTS.

After estimating its IPO price in the range of $20 to $24, the firm ended up selling 45.5 million shares at $27 per share.

Marqeta is trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the “MQ” ticker symbol.