Google Wallet will now let you add physical transit cards and balances with NFC

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Google has released a new version of Google Play Services, bringing a useful new feature to Google Wallet alongside several developer-oriented features.

The latest version of Google Play Services (v26.35) adds a handy feature for frequent transit card users: you can now add your physical transit cards and balances to the Google Wallet app using NFC . This means you will soon be able to use your NFC-compatible Android phone to tap and access public transport without carrying a physical transit card.

It’s worth noting that this feature uses NFC, so you won’t be able to add transit cards to the Wallet app on phones without an NFC chip. The update also introduces a new “Add a card” success screen with an improved UI in the Wallet app.

Google has also released a new version of the Google Play Store app (v53.1), with a couple of UI tweaks and quality-of-life improvements. Users will soon be able to see a short description highlighting key features for apps displayed in the “Similar Apps” section within the Play Store.

The Play Store is also getting a new navigation bar, letting users explore more of their interests directly on Play home pages. Plus, users will be able to see which of their devices already have an app installed when browsing recommendations.

You can update your phone to the latest Google System Services by heading to Settings > Google Settings > All Services > Privacy and Security > System Services . You can also enable automatic updates to keep your phone up to date with the latest version of Google System Services.

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