Croatia is the first country in the Adriatic region offering Google Pay for payment in stores and on all Google platforms as of August 1, Google Adriatic said on Wednesday.

“This is a safe, fast and simple way of paying via a mobile app, combining the services of a virtual wallet and Android Pay, which provides users with a better paying experience,” Google Adriatic representatives said.

The service means that users need no physical payment card, with transactions hapening via a smartphone app. Google is unveiling the service in cooperation with PBZ (Privredna Banka Zagreb), and at launch the service will be supported by PBZ online banking and the Visa Inspire card. There are plans to cooperate with other Croatian banks as well.

The service is now available via Android smartphones and there are plans to enable it for iPhone and other banks’ clients as well.

Google Pay is currently available in 20 countries around the world. Google Adriatic said they chose Croatia to be the first country in the region to launch it in because of its progress, growth and the country’s potential, owing to the widespread use of smartphones, the Internet, and forms of contact-less payment, the company said.

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