Search and softwares giant Google on Thursday (Friday in PHL) has demoed Google Wallet, an app that will “make your phone your wallet,” in its New York City office, along with Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint.
Google Wallet aims to make it easier for users to pay for and save on the goods while giving merchants more ways to offer coupons and loyalty programs to customers, the company in a blog post announced.
With Google Wallet, users will be able to “store credit cards, offers, loyalty cards and gift cards” without the bulk, it said, when tapped to pay, the user's phone will also automatically redeem offers and earn loyalty points.
The app is now on the test phase, but once made publicly available, it will come with the Android-powered Nexus S 4G, which will be available on Sprint. It's the only Android phone on the market that has a built-in chip for NFC (Near Field Communication), the technology that runs Google Wallet.
Google bared how it works:
At first, Google Wallet will support both Citi MasterCard and a Google Prepaid Card; the latter can be bought using almost any payment card.
Then users will be able to tap their phone to pay wherever a “MasterCard PayPass” is accepted.Many were asking, “What if I wanted to use Google Wallet but I don't have an Android phone?” and “What if I have an Android phone but it's an older version not the new Nexus S 4G?”
Google, via TechCrunch, said it's willing to partner with everyone (iPhone, WP7, RIM) as long as: 1) they will include the NFC chips in their phones and 2) they will be willing to work with Google on this e-payment system.
Google Wallet aims to make it easier for users to pay for and save on the goods while giving merchants more ways to offer coupons and loyalty programs to customers, the company in a blog post announced.
With Google Wallet, users will be able to “store credit cards, offers, loyalty cards and gift cards” without the bulk, it said, when tapped to pay, the user's phone will also automatically redeem offers and earn loyalty points.
The app is now on the test phase, but once made publicly available, it will come with the Android-powered Nexus S 4G, which will be available on Sprint. It's the only Android phone on the market that has a built-in chip for NFC (Near Field Communication), the technology that runs Google Wallet.
Google bared how it works:
At first, Google Wallet will support both Citi MasterCard and a Google Prepaid Card; the latter can be bought using almost any payment card.
Then users will be able to tap their phone to pay wherever a “MasterCard PayPass” is accepted.Many were asking, “What if I wanted to use Google Wallet but I don't have an Android phone?” and “What if I have an Android phone but it's an older version not the new Nexus S 4G?”
Google, via TechCrunch, said it's willing to partner with everyone (iPhone, WP7, RIM) as long as: 1) they will include the NFC chips in their phones and 2) they will be willing to work with Google on this e-payment system.
