TD and RBC may come to Android Pay in ‘the next several quarters’

When Android Pay launched in Canada today, Google revealed support for the majority of Canada’s Big Five banks with two notable exceptions: RBC and TD.

At a press briefing announcing contactless mobile payments platform’s availability, Spencer Spinnell attributed this discrepancy to the technical process related to enabling Android Pay from the banks’ perspectives.

“I can’t talk to specific details regarding partnerships. What I can say is if you look at other markets, the way we’re rolling out in Canada mirrors the way we rolled out everywhere across the globe. These organizations typically have large queues of work they need to get done,” said Spinnell.

“We expect banks will come on board over the course of the next several quarters,” he continued.

Towards the end of the presentation, Spinnell again reiterated that Google was optimistic about the prospect of gaining TD and RBC, stating: “We’re quite hopeful that Canadian shoppers will have access to one hundred percent of the cards in their wallet.”

Although we're not offering this option currently, this does not mean it won't be up for consideration going forward. ^SF

— TD (Canada) (@TD_Canada) May 31, 2017

This is echoed by the support tweets of TD itself, which has been fielding questions from customers eager to try out the new platform.

“Although we’re not offering this option currently, this does not mean it won’t be up for consideration going forward,” wrote a TD social media representative in one post. RBC, meanwhile, has kept quiet on the subject — though tweets are steadily pouring from upset customers.

MobileSyrup has reached out to RBC and TD for comment.

Update 31/05/17: TD tells MobileSyrup that it doesn’t have any plans to add Android Pay at this time and that “TD customers are already benefiting from a broad suite of mobile payment options including TD Mobile Payments.”

The spokesperson also adds, however: “We’re always looking for ways to enhance our existing offerings to provide an exceptional level of safety, security and convenience for our customers, so this means we won’t close the door for future consideration of Android Pay.”

Update 01/06/17: RBC replied to MobileSyrup with the following statement: “While we are not participating in the launch of Android Pay at this time, RBC clients with Android mobile devices can use their RBC Wallet to safely and securely pay for purchases. The RBC Wallet on Android gives users convenient access to their payment and gift cards at the point of sale. As mobile payments technology continues to mature in Canada, we see significant potential through the innovation of our RBC Wallet and third party wallets to provide the seamless and convenient mobile transactions that our clients expect.”