Android, iOS users can pay bills directly from their Gmail app without opening an email

The Gmail apps for both iOS and Android are now getting a new feature that will allow users to see and pay a bill through a summary card. These cards give Gmail subscribers a summary and overview of an email without the user having to open the Gmail. Last year, Google announced some changes to the summary card with a revised look and action buttons that allow the recipient of the Gmail to, well, take action. Summary cards receiving the new look cover emails for bills, purchases, events, and travel.

Some of the summary cards have already been launched such as the one for events, and the one for purchases. Now, Gmail users on iOS and Android can receive a summary card for an email they received that contains a bill that needs to be paid. This was announced via Google Workplace and as an example a summary card is displayed for an Xfinity bill. Three buttons give the recipient the option to pay the bill, set a reminder to pay the bill or view the bill.

If you choose to be reminded about the bill, it will be included as an entry in Google Tasks which will remind you to make a payment in time so that you won’t get socked with a late fee. To make things a bit easier for Gmail users, Google is expected to eventually roll out a “Happening Soon” summary card that will show you all of your current summary cards and the dates that they are each connected to, all in one location. This “Happening Soon” summary, when launched by Google, will appear at the top of your Gmail inbox.

An example of a summary card that allows you to pay a bill without opening the email. | Image credit-Google

The new summary cards for bills will save you plenty of time since you’ll be able to see who you owe a payment to and how much you owe without having to open up the email. Again, you have the ability to make the payment from the summary card, take a deeper dive into the bill to view it, or put it off for now and get a reminder later but before it is too late to avoid a late fee.

Gmail is obviously a very popular email app for both iOS and Android users. This new summary card will only make it more popular since everyone likes to save time when it comes to a chore that we really don’t like doing such as paying our bills.

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