Google is the latest company to confirm its plans to launch a ‘mobile wallet’. It’s been demonstrating the Google Wallet application today and says this’ll be launched to consumers in the summer on the Nexus S 4G in the USA. The app has been developed in partnership with Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint.
Google Wallet will be launched with two payment options; either a Citi MasterCard or a virtual Google prepaid card. It uses NFC for secure payments by touching the phone against a MasterCard PayPass-enabled terminal. It’ll also be possible to synchronise virtual vouchers from Google search results with the Wallet app. Payment card details will be encrypted and stored separately from the main Android device memory.
Ed Labry, North America president of First Data, said “The payments industry has known for some time that it was not a question of if, but when true mobile commerce would become a reality. We believe today is the day that mobile meets payments. We’re proud to play a central role in Google Wallet and to bring innovative technology such as Trusted Service Management and contactless acceptance to our clients.”