Google is testing a new feature on its Assistant that allows users to make payments using their voice. This has been spotted by Android Police this week. According to Google spokesperson quoted in the report, the feature is in pilot testing for now.
The report points out only select users are getting this payment option. This is available through phone’s Setting – Google Assistant, and click on the Payment option. You will see the option “Confirm with Voice Match’ and the end of the page, and if that shows up, voice-enabled payment option is compatible with your account.
The feature is mostly suited for Google’s Home smart devices, which could allow you to shop and pay sitting in your living room. We’ve previously seen Amazon support payment option through Alexa for its Echo smart speaker users. You can shop on Amazon, add items to your cart and if the voice payment feature is enabled, just say the word and Alexa will bill it to your attached card/bank account on its profile.
Google voice payment raises concerns
The use of voice for payment could raise security concerns for people. Since it’s much easier to mimic voice compared to using face recognition. Payment is a delicate subject, and unless you’re inside home, doing it with voice means attackers can steal money. We’re hoping that technology companies work out the deficiencies of using voice for payment. Offering AI-centric voice support could make it hard for people to replicate people’s voices. For now, we’re just hoping its use case is fairly thought out.
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In addition to this, Google is also building up the features for its RCS-enabled Messages app. New report says the rich communication service (or RCS) on the platform could soon get end-to-end encryption support. Google Messages rival iMessage and Signal already offer stringent encryption norms. And there’s no reason for Google to not deploy it for its RCS-enabled platform. The report has been unable to determine whether the secure messaging channel will be available to both sender and receiver. But it’s likely that users will be given the choice to enable the encryption themselves