Google Pay shoots to top of Apple's App Store by giving users $21
Google's digital wallet app is suddenly super popular, probably because the company is giving away money.
At one point on Wednesday, Google Pay was the most downloaded app on Apple's App Store, above TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, according to app analytics firm Sensor Tower. This is the first time Google Pay has reached the number one spot based on Sensor Tower's tracking.
On Nov. 17, Sensor Tower reported 200 installs. The next day, Google Pay got a major redesign, new logo, and features like cashback rewards and group payments. It became 50 times more popular with 10,000 installs on Nov. 18 alone.
Since the big update, Google Pay reached 316,000 downloads on the App Store, compared to 8,000 in the same time period last year.
While the redesign helped, the app reached new heights when it raised its referral rates this week.
As 9to5 Google reported Wednesday, Google Pay now gives users $21 for signing up a new user who spends more than $10 with the app. The new user also gets $21.
The payout to both users was previously $5. You can refer up to three people — at least until Dec. 31, when the deal ends.
Google Pay was installed from the App Store 410,000 times in 2020, according to Sensor Tower. Last year, that number was only 82,000.
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Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
