The estimated reading time for this post is 2 minutes
Earlier this week, Google announced yet another service: Google Wallet. Google Wallet is a very handy service that allows you to pay using your Android phone instead of using your credit card or cash.
But Google Wallet is more than a payment system. Google Wallet also stores your loyalty cards, coupons and special offers so that everything happens in one transaction. They call this all-in-one feature SingleTap.
To use Google Wallet, just turn on your phone, tap it on the terminal and enter your pass code. Transaction complete. In one tap you have paid for your items, added points to your loyalty card and perhaps saved money with coupons and special offers. Handy dandy!
Where does the money come from when you use Google Wallet? You can either use your Citibank MasterCard or a Google Wallet pre-paid card that you can fund with your credit card.
Google Wallet is protected with a pass code and will not work when the phone is off. If you enter an incorrect pass code five times, Google Wallet will lock down.
Google’s roll-out of this service is very limited for now. There is only one phone capable of using Google Wallet, the Nexus S Android phone. And you can only use Google Wallet if Sprint is your carrier. The locations are limited as well, you can search for locations near you at this site: Google Wallet Where It Works. So not many people are using Google Wallet yet, but the initial reviews have been very positive (see, Mashable’s Google Wallet: First Impressions).
The technology that Google is using for Google Wallet is NFC, or Near Field Communication. I first wrote about this in March (see, Upgrading Personal Tech: Is the Latest Really the Greatest?), when the idea of paying with a smartphone seemed like a distant vision.
The upcoming iPhone 5 (most recently rumored to be announced on October 4) may or may not be equipped for NFC payments. Most in the tech world are predicting that the iPhone 5 will not be NFC enabled, but we won’t know for sure until the announcement of the phone from Apple.
Does the idea of paying for items with a smartphone appeal to you? Do you like the SingleTap convenience of having your payment, loyalty cards, special offers and coupons combined ? Would this convince you to get a smartphone with NFC capabilities? Vote in today’s poll and let us know!
Do you see NFC payments as being the wave of the future? Do you think credit cards will become obsolete? Let us know in the Comments section below!
*****************************************************************
In other Google news, Google+ is now open to the public (see, Google+: What’s The Buzz About? for more information on Google+). So if you have been waiting until you didn’t need an invitation to join Google+, now is the time!
Hi Caorlyn,
Google Wallet really looks inspiring. We need a standardized method of paying to various vendors and probably receiving money from others
Right now the most popular mode of payment in India is Paypal but people have been frustrated with their lack of good customer service.
WIth the introduction of Wallet, I think there would be a lot of standardization and across the globe transactions will increase.
It is now rolled in two continents only but knowing google they would be working fast to get it to other continents as well :).
Hey Ashvini,
You said Correct the Concept of Google Wallet is really cool one no need to carry physical cards when everything can be done by a Mobile Phone.. I even loved it’s Logo “W”..
And if we talk about PayPal in India what we now-a-days hear is the one word DEAD and it’s pretty true paypal & RBI have screwed up us all so badly that payment standards like google wallet can be a saviour..
I hope Google soon launches it worldwide and also to be used on any phone.. because seriously i don’t think its a better Idea to change phone for using Google Wallet..
Nice Post Carolyn 🙂
Hi Rohit,
Well said. When I was running my own business, I had to take service of a well known PG company. They had so many clauses in their agreement that it made constitution of India look like a kiddie book. 😉
I seriously wish someone better than Paypal or the esteemd PG company comes and provide better services
That would have been really bad reading up a Agreement which is bigger than Indian constitution itself.. Maybe you should have read Indian Constitution it would have been better you would have become a Social Activist with full knowledge of India’s Constitution.. 🙂
Hi Rohit, I agree, when Google expands Google Wallet to other phones and other phone platforms, its growth will expand. NFC requires certain hardware so a phone must be equipped with NFC capabilities in order for any such payment system to work with it.
I did read where a manufacturer in Korea has developed an NFC case for the iPhone, but that has not been sold yet and it’s unclear whether there would be separate security concerns with that case versus using an NFC enabled phone.
But if you are looking for a new phone, you may want to consider whether the phones have NFC built in.
Thanks for your wonderful comment, Rohit! 🙂
Yeah Carolyn NFC enabled phones are must for Google Wallet but i think Google should try out some thing else which can be ran up on normal phones without NFC as I know only one NFC enabled phone that is Google Nexus itself and even iPhone 5 which is to be launched this year will not be having NFC in it..
Hi Rohit, I too, hope Google Wallet launches worldwide soon. It would be great to have a universal payment system that would cross international borders.
Hi Ashvini, You’re right, it will be very interesting to see how Google rolls out this service, both geographically and feature-wise. There is a lot of room for growth both ways. If Google Wallet (or some other form of NFC payment) is successful, the level of acceptance at merchants will soar.
It will also be interesting to see if Google Wallet expands its point of sale service to online payment as well, perhaps competing with PayPal in the future. A global standardized payment system would be helpful so that ideally there would be no additional fees for incurring charges outside your home country.
Thanks so much, Ashvini, for your visit and for leaving your astute comment! 🙂
I heard the news about this yesterday and was curious to see what it could do. I think it would be the next logical step for wallets.
We are going from paper books to ebooks, we are going from cd’s to mp3s, and dvd’s to direct downloads.
Why not do the same with our plastic credit and debit cards. I always hated having to carry another card each time you sign up with some store for their loyalty program.
Just my thoughts,
Bryce
Hi Bryce, Great point, we are changing media in various forms, including books, music, tv shows, so why not with point of sale payment methods as well? It’s very interesting seeing what the future holds!
Thanks for your visit and awesome comment, Bryce! 🙂
Hi Carolyn,
I almost admire Google as much as I admire Apple. Hence, I consider every new product they launch. When it comes to Google Wallet I’ll have to wait until it’s available on the iPhone… and right now, I’m only using PayPal. But, I trust Google and I would use it if it was available.
Jens
Hi Jens, I agree with you, I would use this if it were available on my phone or on a phone I’m going to get, but I don’t know if it would be a make or break decision for me. It would take more universal acceptance for me to buy a phone just for that reason.
There has been talk of Apple coming up with its own NFC payment system, the issue is always who gets the revenues from the payments? Are the credit card companies willing to share their revenue with Google and Apple? Apple may be asking for a bigger cut than Apple, which may be why Google was the first to market with their NFC payment system.
The future of NFC payments will be very interesting! 🙂
I would use it, I can wait until something like it comes out for the iPhone though.
Hi Wilson, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, you’re right, it may not be Google Wallet that comes to the iPhone, it might be another type of NFC payment system, perhaps one from Apple. The iPhone will get the payment system eventually, though I’m not sure if it will come with the iPhone 5.
Thanks so much for your visit and awesome comment, Wilson! 🙂
Hi Carolyn,
Another Interesting concept from Google family. I happened to come across this last week about really very much impressive. I think about handling the security features and fire wall related concepts.
But, Since the stuff from Google we can trust very much and we know how much security measure they will consider. Yet to watch as, how it is going get commercialize.
Google! always a trend setter. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the post.
Now that is really cool. Of course I have heard that this type of thing is headed our way so I am not at all surprised that Google is getting a jump on this.
I took the poll and you probably guessed what my response is. I’m going to have to wait until they have it more widely spread since first off, I don’t even have a phone with those capabilities. But hey, I have my iPod Touch! That would work but only if all the stores have a WiFi connection. I’m assuming that’s how it all works. You know me, not too up on all of that. 🙂
As always, Carolyn to the rescue with the latest and greatest news on all new stuff coming out. That really is so cool.
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, You’re right, I do know you and I wouldn’t be surprised if within the next year you were sharing your video tutorial with us on how to use NFC payments!
Adrienne, the payments are not made over Wi-Fi or even Bluetooth. Google Wallet uses a new technology called NFC or near field communication. To use NFC, a smartphone must have an NFC chip embedded so your iPod Touch and smartphones other than the Nexus S don’t have the ability to use NFC technology.
I agree, this stuff is very cool. I am looking forward to NFC payments becoming more widespread. Now every time I pull out my wallet to search for my credit card, I think how much easier it would be to pay by tapping my phone. How quickly we become spoiled by tech!
Thanks so much for your awesome comment, Adrienne! 🙂