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I still can’t believe how bad the <a href="https://myappsplus.com/the-apple-watch-series-12-is-still-superb-but-google-has-caught-up/” title=”The Apple Watch Series 12 is still superb, but Google has caught up”>Google Wallet redesign is
There’s still time to change this, Google.
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Joe Maring / Android Authority
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In early October, Google began rolling out a fairly big redesign to the Google Wallet app. After years of displaying credit/debit cards in a horizontal carousel, the app switched to a vertical list.
On paper, this doesn’t sound like that big of a deal. If anything, it made the Google Wallet home screen look a bit cleaner and more organized. However, after living with this redesign for the past month, I can’t stand it.
This UI is a step backward in so many ways, and it’s only made Google Wallet worse.
Why the Google Wallet design is so bad
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Google Wallet UI in April 2026.
Why so much hate for Google Wallet’s new look? It all comes down to functionality. While the app may look tidier with this redesign, it’s made simple tasks more complicated than before for seemingly no good reason.
Switching cards is a great example of this. Previously, you swiped left and right on your cards to pick a different one. I have three cards I use for most purchases. With the old Google Wallet UI, I had my Chase Freedom Unlimited as my default payment method, and with a swipe left or right, I could instantly switch to my Chase Freedom or Discover It.
With the current Google Wallet interface, you can no longer switch cards with one swipe. Now, you have to tap or swipe down on your vertical card stack, then tap the card you want to use. Not only is it now two steps instead of one, but the interface is also a bit janky. You can swipe down on the card stack to see the full list, but you can’t swipe back up to close it; instead, you have to swipe back from the edge of your screen or tap the X icon in the top-left corner.
And all of this for what? To make the home screen ever so slightly more organized? It’s a baffling decision.
Even more frustrating is how difficult it is to see card details. Prior to this redesign, tapping a card from the home screen immediately took you to a card details page where you could view a list of transactions for that card (among other things). That card details page still exists, but accessing it now requires all of these steps:
- Tap the card stack on the Wallet home page.
- Tap the card you want to see more details about.
- Tap the card icon in the upper-right corner.
That’s right; what could once be done with a single tap now requires three. Seriously, what are we doing?
And this is to say nothing of complaints other Google Wallet users have raised. If you have multiple cards from the same bank, knowing which is which can be impossible since Google Wallet card numbers now only appear when you have the full card stack open and swipe left on the cards. It’s just a mess.
I hope Google does something about this
Joe Maring / Android Authority
What’s particularly frustrating about this redesign is that other Google Wallet changes this year have been excellent. The new UI for passes that rolled out in April is fantastic. The recent addition of receipt scanning is a wonderful upgrade, and improved transaction names are a good quality-of-life update, too.
Google has done a lot of good with Google Wallet in 2026, so to see the app take a step back with this card redesign is really disappointing. Google could easily go back to the old UI, solve all of these problems, and not have to upend any of the other positive changes it’s made. Whether that actually happens seems fairly unlikely, but I hope Google is at least listening to feedback.
