Case Study: Google Pay achieves instant, secure spending of user balances with Marqeta

The leader in tech innovation brings an easier way for users to pay for everyday items with their Android phones

Google Pay, the Google mobile wallet used by more than 150 million monthly users across 40 countries, needed a faster, more convenient way for customers to spend their Google Pay balance outside Google properties without initiating bank transfers and waiting for funds. To address this, Google Pay partnered with Marqeta and tapped Marqeta’s modern card-issuing platform — including virtual card issuing, JIT funding, tokenization, and program management — to deliver an instant, secure payment option.

Marqeta implemented tokenized virtual cards that can be issued instantly and pushed into users’ digital wallets, letting U.S. Android Google Pay users spend their Google Pay balance at online and in‑store merchants and for person‑to‑person payments without transfers. Marqeta’s developer-friendly APIs, banking relationships, and compliance support sped time-to-market and simplified scale‑up, while tokenization improved security; the result is broader, immediate access to funds and a more flexible payment experience for Google Pay users.

Google Pay

Govind Kaushal

Head of Product