Google, the world's leading search engine, officially launched on Monday Google Wallet, allowing users to pay by tapping NFC-enabled
Android phone against a compatible card reader.
According to a Google blog post, the mobile payment app will be
pushed to all Sprint Nexus S 4G phones through an over-the-air
update.
Google Wallet currently allows users to pay with Citi MasterCard
credit card and Google Prepaid Card. The search giant also announced
that Visa, Discover and American Express have agreed to enable their
cards to be added to future versions of Google Wallet.
Google Wallet was first unveiled in May bundled with coupon
service Google Offers. The mobile payment app uses a technology
called near field communication (NFC), which enables simple data to
be transferred over a small distance between two devices with NFC
chips planted.
Several tech bloggers gave Google Wallet a positive review,
saying it is magical and impressive, but the impact remains to be
seen as the NFC technology has not been widely adopted by customers
and merchants in the United States.
