Google announced a wide range of supporters for the planned launch of Android Pay in the UK, although its line-up was missing some high-profile names.

The search giant unveiled an array of banks, retailers and fintech firms backing the debut later this year but a couple of significant players were absent.

Three of the UK’s leading banks – Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and Santander – have yet to give their support, although some heavyweights, such as HSBC, Lloyds Bank and Nationwide Building Society, are on board.

Google needs the agreement of a bank to put a virtual version of their customers’ debit or credit cards in Android Pay. Visa and MasterCard, whose support is also needed, already support Android Pay.

Other banks on board for the UK launch are Bank of Scotland, First Direct, Halifax, M&S Bank and MBNA.

Of course, Google has time to add the missing names ahead of its launch in several months. Mind you, Barclays has shown itself a long term holdout against Apple Pay, an Android Pay rival.

So far, Android Pay is only available in the US with Google saying it will launch in a second market, Australia, in the first half of 2016.

In December last year, the company said it was working closely with Australia’s major financial institutions, including ANZ and Westpac, to bring Android Pay to their MasterCard and Visa cardholders.

However, it lags behind rivals Apple and Samsung which have more markets under their belts for mobile payments.

In the UK, Google announced a range of retailers, as well as banks, which will accept NFC-based payments from Android Pay.

They are Aldi, Boots, BP, Costa, Greggs, KFC, Pret, Starbucks, Superdrug, Transport for London and Waitrose.

The payment service will also enable online purchases through a range of apps that includes JD Sports, Deliveroo and Zara.

In addition, Google is working with payment platforms, processors and tech providers in the UK to spread Android Pay to more stores and apps. This includes big names, such as Braintree, Klarna, Stripe and Worldpay.