Originally Posted by
moondog
My newest Huawei does not support GMS, which is required for Gpay (and a host of other Google apps). I tried googlefier several times, and also attempted to downgrade my firmware, but I eventually gave up. The only time I use Gpay in China is when exchanging CNY for USD with friends, and my Nexus works fine for this purpose.
Apparently, part of the Huawei ban is that it is no longer allowed to purchase licenses from Google (or other US companies). My old Huawai still works fine with GMS, but I gave it to a friend who lost her phone. I don't mind lugging around the Nexus in the US, but I expect to use credit/debit cards a lot more there unless Gpay has completely taken over during my absence.
On a semi-related note, are Alipay and Wechat Pay popular in the US now? They are both pretty strong in SE Asia.
GPay hasn't completely taken over, but tap to pay with a bank card linked to GPay will work at a lot more places these days than you'd think. There's still a couple of major holdouts, though.
And I'm struggling to think of a single time I've seen an Alipay or WeChat Pay sign in the US, but I don't often go to the kinds of places frequented by Chinese tourists, so merchant uptake could be a lot better in those kinds of places.