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Android M supports fingerprint authentication for use with new Android Pay system and other apps
June 13, 2025
Bio-metric authentication has been a hot topic in the mobile community for some time now. Well over a decade ago, Fujitsu was including fingerprint sensors with their top-tier feature phones in Japan. While HTCdabbled with it more recently, things really started rolling once Apple introduced Touch ID. Samsung was quick to release the Galaxy S5 with a swipe-based reader, and later HUAWEI also include the feature. This year’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge introduced a moreinspiredway of acquiring a fingerprint.
It seems that Google has taken notice in a big way, as announced today at I/O 2015 is news that when Android M releases later this year, fingerprint support will be included, and it’s going to be integrated into Android Pay. The technology builds on NFC and host card emulation, and will allow users to safely and simply pay in stores. Android Pay allows you to simply unlock your phone, place it on an NFC reader/terminal, and like magic the transaction has finished: there is no need to open an application.
Security is a big part of this project and thus no card information is shared with the merchant. Choice is important, and so you may choose from any number of possibilities: Google itself, your existing credit cards like Visa and MasterCard, or even with carrier-based payment options from providers like AT&T and Verizon.
Initially, 700,000 different stores in the US will accept Android Pay with presumably more in the future as Google negotiates new partnerships and the technology truly takes off. Partners include Best Buy, Gamestop, McDonalds, Whole Foods, and more. Apps such as Groupon and lyft and uber will also accept the payment option thus making life with more convenient than ever.
Android M, with its fingerprint support, will allow for more advanced authentication-based security. Simply touch the biometric sensor and the phone will begin the NFC exchange with the terminal. It would seem that unlocking the device itself may not even be necessary, although it’s possible that if the security settings are set to block any notifications from displaying while locked you may need to do just that.
New APIs will be made available for any interested developers to integrate fingerprint support into their apps, which will in turn, allow for instant in-app purchases without the need to sign in or type a password each time. This could potentially work well for those users with small children as an extra layer of security to prevent them from making unauthorized purchases even should they know your password.
It’s still early days, but we’re very excited and think that this type of open platform will help drive adoption in mobile payments.Security is at the center of Android PayWe know how important it is for you to keep your personal and financial information secure. Therefore, we’re partnering with all the major payment networks in the US including American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa to deliver industry standard security tokenization.So when you shop at a store, Android Pay won’t send your actual credit or debit card number with your payment. Instead we’ll use a virtual account number to represent your account information — providing you with an extra layer of security. And if your phone is ever lost or stolen, simply useAndroid Device Managerto instantly lock your device from anywhere, secure it with a new password or even wipe it clean of your personal information.Shop at your favorites
Android Pay will soon be accepted at over 700,000 store locations from your favorite brands across the US, and in over 1000 Android apps. And we’ll be adding more every day.
Stay TunedAndroid Pay will be available on Google Play for download soon. And when your bank integrates, you could also activate Android Pay directly from your bank app. We are also working with major US mobile carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) to help ensure that when you buy a new Android phone, you may walk out the door ready to use Android Pay.
Look forward to sharing more in the coming months.
Posted by Pali Bhat, Director, Product Management
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