If a vendor supports it, you can make payments through your Google Assistant, but currently it requires you to verify yourself using your fingerprint or face match — assuming you are in a country that supports it (Australia doesn’t, yet). Now it seems that Google are automating the entire process with it currently trialling using Voice Match for purchase confirmation as part of a new pilot program.
Some users in the US have seen a new setting that allows Voice Match to confirm purchases made through Google Assistant appear in the Payment and Security settings panel of the app. Google have actually confirmed the new feature to Android Police but it would be hard for them to hide it given that some Google support documentation have been updated with it.
As with most things Google Assistant on your phone there are a couple of ways to get to the new settings with Android Police describing the best way as:
Google app -> More -> Settings -> Google Assistant -> You -> Payments
If the option is live for you then in there will be a new “Confirm with Voice Match” setting which, as you would expect, is disabled by defaults. Input your password and it can be enabled. At this stage it is being reported as only available for some users with some seeing the setting but unable to complete the setup/enabling process.
At this stage the Voice Match feature is only available for in-app purchases through Google Play and restaurant orders but either way it is still not available here. Although we can set up payment with Google Assistant here in Australia its functionality is non-existent but surely it is in the pipeline given we can set it up. We do not have this new voice match confirmation setting either just yet in Australia.
Whether this new setting and even any payments with Google Assistant make it here is unknown but you would expect that Google would like to bring it here (and everywhere). It is possible that regulatory bodies are making them jump through a fair amount of hoops before it is enabled. Until then we will just have to watch our friends in the US continue to enjoy Google Assistant with all of its features and functionality.
Maybe one day we will be able to tell our favourite digital assistant to buy that burger for us.
