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Use this guide to integrate the Google Pay payment handler for Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) with Braintree as your payment provider. This enables AI-powered checkout experiences through Google AI Mode (Gemini), where Google Pay returns a tokenized credential that Braintree can process, and your server uses it to process the payment.

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How it works

In a standard Google Pay integration, tokenization happens client-side. With UCP, Google shifts this to the server side. The following table shows the key differences.
Integration detailStandard integrationUCP or AI mode integration
Client SDKRequired in your web or mobile clientNot used in your client
TokenizationPerformed client-side through SDKGoogle handles tokenization on server side
Single-use token deliverySDK returns to clientGoogle includes it in checkout-complete payload
ParsingSDK parses automaticallyMerchant parses androidPayCards JSON
Using Google’s UCP, AI agents can:
  • Discover your products through your product catalog.
  • Create checkout sessions through the UCP specification.
  • Send the tokenized Braintree payment, including the tokenized credential, to your server to complete checkout.

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Prerequisites

  • Active Braintree merchant account.
  • Google Pay enabled in your Braintree Control Panel.
  • UCP merchant registration with Google. Contact Google for enablement.
  • Familiarity with Braintree’s Transaction.sale or chargePaymentMethod GraphQL mutation.

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Step 1: Configure Google Pay payment handler tokenization

When registering your UCP profile with Google, you will define a full Google Pay payment handler specification. The following tokenizationSpecification block is the Braintree-specific section that belongs inside the allowed_payment_methods entry of that specification. For more information, see the Google Pay payment handler specification. 
{
    "payment_handlers": {
      "com.google.pay": [
        {
          "id": "YOUR_HANDLER_UUID",
          "name": "com.google.pay",
          "version": "2026-01-23",
          "config": {
            "api_version": 2,
            "api_version_minor": 0,
            "environment": "PRODUCTION",
            "merchant_info": {
              "merchant_name": "YOUR_BUSINESS_NAME",
              "merchant_id": "YOUR_GOOGLE_MERCHANT_ID",
              "merchant_origin": "checkout.yourdomain.com"
            },
            "allowed_payment_methods": [
              {
                "type": "CARD",
                "parameters": {
                  "allowed_auth_methods": ["PAN_ONLY"],
                  "allowed_card_networks": ["AMEX", "DISCOVER", "MASTERCARD", "VISA"],
                  "billingAddressRequired": true,
                  "billingAddressParameters": {
                    "format": "FULL",
                    "phoneNumberRequired": false
                  }
                },
                "tokenizationSpecification": {
                  "type": "PAYMENT_GATEWAY",
                  "parameters": {
                    "gateway": "braintree",
                    "braintree:apiVersion": "v1",
                    "braintree:sdkVersion": "braintree.client.VERSION",
                    "braintree:merchantId": "YOUR_BRAINTREE_MERCHANT_ID",
                    "braintree:clientKey": "YOUR_BRAINTREE_TOKENIZATION_KEY"
                  }
                }
              }
            ]
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
ParameterDescription
gatewaySet to braintree
braintree:apiVersionAPI version (v1)
braintree:sdkVersionBraintree client SDK version
braintree:merchantIdYour Braintree public merchant ID
braintree:clientKeyYour Braintree tokenization key
braintree:clientKey requires a tokenization key. See the Braintree tokenization key documentation for details.

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Step 2: Handle the checkout payload

When Google calls your /checkout-session/{id}/complete endpoint, the payment payload includes the Braintree single-use token in the credential.token field. Expected payload structure 
{
  "payment": {
    "instruments": [
      {
        "id": "pm_1234567890abc",
        "handler_id": "8c9202bd-63cc-4241-8d24-d57ce69ea31c",
        "type": "card",
        "display": {
          "brand": "visa",
          "last_digits": "4242"
        },
        "billing_address": {
          "street_address": "123 Main Street",
          "extended_address": "Suite 400",
          "address_locality": "Charleston",
          "address_region": "SC",
          "postal_code": "29401",
          "address_country": "US",
          "first_name": "Jane",
          "last_name": "Smith"
        },
        "credential": {
          "type": "PAYMENT_GATEWAY",
          "token": "{\"androidPayCards\":[{\"\":\"bd4c9b33-6e1c-11d8-1f4b-c0117fad06f7\",\"description\":\"Android Pay\",\"details\":{\"bin\":\"411111\",\"cardType\":\"Visa\",\"lastFour\":\"4242\"}}]}"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "risk_signals": { }
}
Parsing the single-use token The credential.token contains a JSON string with the androidPayCards array. Parse it to extract the single-use token. 
// Parse the token from Google's checkout complete payload
const tokenData = JSON.parse(payment.instruments[0].credential.token);
const nonce = tokenData.androidPayCards[0].nonce;

// Use the nonce with Braintree
console.log(nonce); // "bd4c9b33-6e1c-11d8-1f4b-c0117fad06f7"

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Step 3: Process the payment with Braintree

Use the extracted single-use token exactly as you would any other Braintree payment method. Using Braintree SDK (Node.js) 
const result = await gateway.transaction.sale({
  amount: "10.00",
  paymentMethodNonce: nonce,
  options: {
    submitForSettlement: true
  }
});

if (result.success) {
  console.log("Transaction ID:", result.transaction.id);
} else {
  console.error("Transaction failed:", result.message);
}
Using GraphQL 
mutation ChargePaymentMethod($input: ChargePaymentMethodInput!) {
  chargePaymentMethod(input: $input) {
    transaction {
      id
      status
      amount { value currencyCode }
    }
  }
}
Variables 
{
  "input": {
    "paymentMethodId": "bd4c9b33-6e1c-11d8-1f4b-c0117fad06f7",
    "transaction": {
      "amount": "10.00"
    }
  }
}
Vaulting considerations If you need to vault the Google Pay payment method for recurring transactions: 
const result = await gateway.customer.create({
  firstName: "Jane",
  lastName: "Smith",
  paymentMethodNonce: nonce 
});

if (result.success) {
  const paymentMethodToken = result.customer.paymentMethods[0].token;
  // Store this token for future transactions
}
Review Google Pay’s terms regarding vaulting network-tokenized cards and FPAN-based cards. Braintree treats the Google Pay-derived credential as a single-use payment method that may only be used once and expires after 3 hours if unused, so avoid flows that try to both charge and vault the same value.

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Troubleshooting

Use the following information to diagnose and resolve common integration issues.

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Common errors

ErrorCauseSolution
Unknown or expired single-use payment methodSingle-use token expired or wrong merchant ID
  • Verify merchant ID matches
  • Single-use tokens expire after use
Empty androidPayCards arrayTokenization failedVerify tokenization key and merchant ID configuration.

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Verify your configuration

  • Confirm the Braintree merchant ID is correct on your UCP Google Pay payment handler definition in the tokenizationSpecification section.
  • Verify the tokenization key is valid and not expired.
  • Ensure Google Pay is enabled in the Braintree Control Panel.