If you’ve been reading the blog, you’ll know that I love free money.
Getting some extra cash never hurts, especially when it is credited straight into your bank account and you can get it with minimal effort.
Sounds awesome and frankly, almost too good to be true right?
Well, with the current Google Pay promotion, this is now a reality.
In this post, I’m going to share with you how to earn free money in a few simple steps.
But first, an introduction to Google Pay.
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I am writing this post for the sole intention of helping people earn free money with Google Pay’s ongoing promotion and will receive no commission. However, if you choose to sign up with my referral link, you and I will both receive a $3 referral bonus.
What Is Google Pay?
Quite literally, Google Pay is a payment app developed by Google.
Personally, I don’t think of Google Pay as a mobile wallet.
Instead, I see Google Pay more as a facilitator for cash transactions.
This is because of the way Google Pay works, and the various functions that it possesses.
Making/Receiving Payments
With Google Pay, you don’t actually store any cash within the app – unlike GrabPay or Singtel Dash.
Instead, Google Pay uses your phone number to get access to your PayNow account, which is used to receive any cash payments or rewards – so they go straight into your bank account.
For payments, you have a variety of options.
You can choose to link your PayLah! account to Google Pay via your phone number, add an OCBC/Standard Chartered bank account or add a credit/debit card.
When you make payments with Google Pay, it will debit the amount from your preferred method of payment directly.
In other words, Google Pay does not store any cash or credits. It simply connects existing payment facilities to enable you to make transactions and transfers.
This is definitely a good thing for us as consumers, as we will have no cash locked up in the app.
To give you an idea of how this compares with mobile wallets like GrabPay,
Google Pay:
GrabPay:
What Can You Do With Google Pay?
Google Pay allows you to perform the following on the app:
- P2P Transfer
- Bill Splitting
- Online/Offline Payment
- Order Food Delivery/Pick Up
- Booking Movie Tickets
These are fairly straightforward functions, but there are a few points that are worth taking note of.
For one, Google Pay’s Tap & Pay function (ie payWave) is only supported by Android devices. So if you’re an iPhone user, you have to stick to QR code payment if you want to use Google Pay.
Next, while Google Pay allows you to place food orders from a variety or merchants for either delivery or pick up in stores, it should be noted that not every store accepts payments via Google Pay.
For a more seamless process, look for stores that say “Order on Google Pay” – these are the stores that accept Google Pay.
For other merchants, you have to place your order and fulfil your payment separately, making the process more of a hassle.
In this case, you may want to consider using more established food delivery platforms instead.
How To Get Free Money
Currently, there are 2 ways to earn money from Google Pay.
The first is via a referral reward and the second is via Google Pay’s scratch card rewards.
Google Pay Referral
If you’re new to Google Pay, you will receive a $3 welcome reward when you join using an existing user’s referral code.
Follow these simple steps to earn your $3 reward:
- Click on this referral link (you have to be on your smartphone for the link to work. If you’re on a laptop/tablet, simply enter the code “146i021″ when signing up)
- Enter your mobile number to be linked with Google Pay
- Download the GooglePaySingapore app
- Enter your mobile number again (same as in #2). This will link your PayNow account registered with the number to Google Pay, and your Google account to Google Pay.
- Check that you have opted in for offers and rewards. From the app, tap your profile on the top right corner and go to “Settings”, then “Offers and rewards”. (you should be opted in by default)
- Add a payment method (PayLah!, OCBC/Standard Chartered bank account or credit/debit card)
- Make an eligible transaction of $10 or more (read the next section on Google Pay’s scratch card rewards to fulfil this easily)
Once you have completed these steps, you will receive a reward of $3, which you can view under Rewards. This will be automatically credited into your PayNow account!
Scratch Card Rewards
Google Pay has several offers which will allow you to earn either cashback or scratch cards for making eligible transactions.
Scratch cards are basically lucky draw rewards, where you can earn anywhere from $0~$10.
Now, I specifically mentioned that Google Pay allows you to earn free money, that is without spending anything.
From these ongoing offers, you can earn 4 scratch cards every week without spending a single cent.
Technically, this means you can earn up to $40/week. Realistically though, it’s unlikely going to exceed even $10/week – but hey, free money is better than no money, right?
1: P2P Transfers
The first way to earn scratch cards is via P2P transfers, that is by transferring money to your family or friends.
Some things to take note of:
- Capped at 2 scratch cards every week
- Minimum transfer of $10 to earn a scratch card
- Week “resets” every Monday, 8:30 am
- Only the 1st transfer to a user will qualify for a scratch card
Basically, this means that if you transfer $10 or more to 2 different people in a week, you will get 2 scratch cards.
Every week, you have to make transfers to different people than you did before – if you transferred to Bob last week, making another transfer to him again this week will not earn you a scratch card.
Your time frame for collecting 2 scratch cards is from Monday 8:30 am until the following Monday 7:29 am.
So if you collected 2 scratch cards on 11 Jan Monday 7 am, you can collect another 2 scratch cards on 11 Jan Monday 7:30 am – because they count as different weeks.
To fulfil this, simply transfer $10 to 2 of your trusted family members or friends and have them transfer it back to you so they can earn scratch cards as well.
#frugaltip: Invite your friends & family to Google Pay using your own referral code and make a $10 P2P transfer to them in order to receive your $3 referral reward from earlier!
2: Merchant Payments
The second way to earn scratch cards is by making payments to merchants.
Again, some things to take note of:
- Capped at 2 scratch cards every week
- Minimum transaction of $3 to earn a scratch card
- Week “resets” every Monday, 830 am
- Only the 1st payment of the week to a merchant will qualify for a scratch card
In order to earn 2 scratch cards, you just need to make 2 transactions of $3 or more each to 2 different merchants every week.
Note that unlike with P2P transfers, you will earn scratch cards for payments made to the same merchant on different weeks.
But wait, payments? Doesn’t that involve spending money?
Technically, yes. But there is a way to workaround this without actually having to spend money and still earn scratch cards.
It was discovered that using Google Pay to top up your GrabPay wallet counts as a merchant payment, earning 1 scratch card.
This means that you can earn the scratch card for free, since you don’t spend money – it is simply transferred into your GrabPay wallet.
The same can be done for your Singtel Dash wallet, allowing you to earn 2 scratch cards absolutely for free.
The caveat, of course, is that you will have cash tied up in your GrabPay and Singtel Dash wallets.
But it is still your cash to spend at a later time.
Below is a step-by-step guide on how to top up your GrabPay wallet using Google Pay.
Step 1: From your Grab app, go to “Payment” and select “Top up with PayNow”.
Step 2: Select “Save to Photos”.
Step 3: Open the Google Pay app, select “New payment” then “Scan QR code”.
Step 4: Select the Photos icon at the top right corner.
Step 5: Select the Grab QR code from your photo album and top up $3 to receive your scratch card.
Following similar steps to top up your Singtel Dash wallet will also earn you a scratch card, as seen in the following picture.
It is worth noting that for both GrabPay and Singtel Dash, even though they state that the minimum top-up amount is $10, top-ups of $3 are still successful using this method in Google Pay.
So on top of receiving scratch cards for free, using Google Pay allows you to top up your GrabPay or Singtel Dash wallet in amounts less than $10, which could be useful if you want to minimise any cash locked up in those wallets.
Note: The above Google Pay offers end on 28 Feb 2021.
To summarise,
There you have it – a way to earn 4 scratch cards every week without paying a single cent, for a chance to earn up to $40/week.
Again, all rewards earned from Google Pay are credited directly as cash into your bank account linked with PayNow, which is great because you are free to use it however you please.
But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
These Google Pay rewards are expiring soon, so make use of them to get as much free money as you can before that happens.
Remember to use a referral link when signing up to get a $3 reward!