Android Pay will launch in UK in next few months.

Exclusively available stateside since September 2015, Google’s newest proprietary digital wallet solution has so far

played second (third?) fiddle to both Apple Pay and Samsung Pay in terms of global expansion efforts and advertising noise.

But a report from Crone Consulting surprisingly found a few weeks ago that Android Pay matched the subscriber numbers of its Samsung-developed rival, still holding to a (theoretical) chance to catch up to Cupertino’s mobile payment service before long.

Unfortunately, Android users on 4.4 and up outside the US remain an untapped resource for Big G’s NFC-enabled transaction platform, as Australia should get official Android Pay support “in the first half of 2016”, and the UK is now added to the availability list, with a similarly vague rollout promise.

Our British friends and readers may still have “a few” more months to wait, despite encouraging February gossip, with regional compatibility for MasterCard and Visa credit and debit cards from Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA and Nationwide Building Society already announced.

New financial institutions will apparently be added “all the time”… as soon as the service actually debuts, while apps supporting speedy and secure Android Pay checkout off the bat include Kickstarter, Deliveroo, JD Sports, YPlan, Zara, Hotel Tonight, Loungebuddy, and many, many others.

Finally, it’s nice to know you’ll soon be able to “tap and pay” for London Tube, bus and train travel, as well as for goods, foods and beverages sold through Boots, Costa Coffee, Waitrose, KFC, Aldi, and Greggs, among others.