UniCredit customers can download the Google Pay application or activate the 'Monhey' app in the mobile banking app 'UniCredit', add their credit, debit and prepaid cards to it and start using the service for making payments in stores, online, and with Google products.

Google Pay makes it even easier for customers to pay and check out online, as cardholders don't need to remember all their card details or fill out endless forms. Instead, they can pay with a few clicks and spend less time on the checkout process. Additionally, when customers use their phone to pay in stores, Google Pay doesn't share their actual credit or debit card number for making the payment. It instead uses a virtual account number to show the customer's account information meaning that the actual card details stay safe and secure.

"Thanks to Google Pay - says Gianni Franco Papa, General Manager of UniCredit - UniCredit nowoffers its 7 million cardholders in Italy collectively holding 9 million debit, credit and prepaid cards, all major mobile payment services for both, in-store and online payments, including Google Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Alipay, with the latter addressed to our merchant customers. This demonstrates our ongoing focus on innovation and digitalisation that are a core part of transforming our business model and a key pillar of our strategic plan - Transform 2019. We will continue to invest in both, innovation and digitalisation, in order to constantly improve the customer experience we offer and reinforce our customer relationships".

"Starting today, users can link their UniCredit cards to Google Pay once and then use Google Pay to make safe, fast and delightful purchases in millions of places in Italy and around the world including on their favorite apps and sites." says Florence Diss, Head of EMEA Commerce Partnerships, Google.

Increasing the range of different mobile payment services for UniCredit's debit and credit card holders is in line with the increasing use of digital services by UniCredit's Italian customers. Data (as at end of September 2018) shows that UniCredit has over 3.3 million clients in Italy who are actively using online banking (+6.7 per cent year on year) and approximately 2 million Italian clients who are using mobile services (+25.6 per cent year on year). Furthermore, the Bank has seen growth of more than 7.4 per cent in remote sales in its home country last year, which now make up 26 per cent of the total sales in Italy.