Amsterdam: Google has announced that it is officially launching its new mobile payments platform Android Pay in the US.

According to The Next Web, it replaces Google Wallet as Google's primary NFC-based payment system.

Android Pay allows the users to make contactless paymentsusing their smartphone at participating retailers.

Android Pay works with MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express cards from numerous major US banks. Citibank and Wells Fargo are not currently available on the platform, but Google says they will be added soon along with other banks.

The company says Android Pay will work at over one million businesses throughout the US which includes brands like Best Buy, McDonalds, Walgreens and Whole Foods.

To use Android Pay, the users just have to simply unlock their phone and tap it against the NFC terminal and they are ready to go. It also supports the fingerprint recognition that is integrated into Android Marshmallow, which should speed up the process even more.

Android Pay will be pre-installed on all new phones from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. It will not be on Sprint devices by default, but customers can download it from the Play Store on their own time.

Also, Wallet will be shifting its focus to PayPal-like person-to-person transactions.

Android Pay will be available via an update to Google Wallet app. The user can downloadAndroid Pay on Play Store. The company will be gradually rolling out the app over the next few days.