Google is Shutting Down Fitbit Pay. Here's What Changes for Users and Banks

Google will discontinue Fitbit Pay on July 29, 2024, ending the contactless payment service that has let Fitbit device owners tap to pay since 2017. The company is moving all wearable payments to Google Wallet instead, according to developer documentation Google published recently.

This is the latest consolidation of Fitbit's services since Google bought the fitness tracker company for $2.1 billion in 2021. If you have a Fitbit Pay setup today, you'll need to move your payment methods to Google Wallet to keep tapping to pay on your wrist.

What Has to Change

The shift from Fitbit Pay to Google Wallet is not just a name change. Fitbit Pay operated as its own separate payment system—it had its own security layer and its own relationships with banks and payment processors. Google Wallet, by contrast, connects to Google's larger payments network and Android's built-in payment system.

For banks and payment companies that supported Fitbit Pay, this means updating how they connect to Google's system. Any existing Fitbit Pay setups will stop working after July. Partners need to set up Google Wallet instead. Google says it will send firmware updates to supported Fitbit devices to enable Google Wallet, though which exact devices will support it hasn't been fully detailed.

The technical shift also simplifies things for you as a user, at least in theory. With Fitbit Pay, you had to set up a separate account and register your cards separately. With Google Wallet, your payment methods are already stored in your Google account. If you're already a Google user, you shouldn't need to do as much setup.

Which Fitbit Devices Will Work

Not every Fitbit will gain Google Wallet support. Newer models like the Versa series, Sense, and Charge will likely be covered. But older Fitbits that lack the necessary hardware—specifically a secure element chip for storing payment data safely, or processors too weak to handle the software—may lose the ability to pay by tap entirely.

This is a common challenge in wearables. Adding payment features requires specialized chips that weren't standard in earlier fitness trackers. Google apparently decided that maintaining two separate payment systems for old and new devices wasn't worth the effort and cost, even though some users will lose functionality as a result.

The consolidation also gives Google a single payment system across its wearables. As Google builds its own Pixel Watch line alongside the Fitbit brand, having one payment backend makes sense from a business standpoint—it cuts development and support costs.

The Bigger Picture

Wearable payments have grown significantly in recent years, especially after COVID-19 made people more comfortable with contactless transactions. Apple Pay on the Apple Watch is still the leader here, while Samsung Pay works on Galaxy Watches. Google's move to consolidate everything under Wallet is its attempt to compete with those more unified systems.

For developers building payment apps, there's a practical benefit: instead of supporting both Fitbit Pay and Google Wallet separately, they can focus on just one integration that covers both Wear OS watches and supported Fitbit devices.

The broader context here is worth noting. We have seen this pattern before—when Google consolidated its fragmented messaging apps, when Apple unified payments across its devices, when Microsoft merged cloud services under Azure. As technology companies compete, they increasingly view a seamless experience across all your devices as a competitive advantage. One platform is easier to defend and maintain than two.

What Users and Banks Need to Do Now

If your bank already supports Google Wallet, switching should be relatively straightforward—mostly a matter of re-entering your card information through the Google Wallet app. Banks that don't yet support Google Wallet face a more involved process.

You'll need to add your payment cards to Google Wallet before July 29, and you may need to verify your identity again with your bank. The one-month window is tight, especially for banks handling complex payment setups across many customers. It's the kind of migration that creates real friction for some people.

The success of this transition will likely matter beyond Fitbit. As the wearables market matures and older devices stop getting updates, other companies will face similar decisions about whether to maintain legacy systems or force users onto new platforms. For Google, this is a test of whether it can move users between payment systems without losing them to competitors like Apple.