Google turning mobile phone into a wallet

[Jasonkoh82]

North America First Data President Ed Labry speaks during a news conference in New York. Google wants the smartphone to be the wallet of the future, a container for digital credit cards, coupons, receipts and loyalty cards that can be 'tapped' to terminals in stores. -- PHOTO: AP

NEW YORK - GOOGLE unveiled a free mobile application on Thursday that turns a smartphone into an electronic wallet and is designed to replace plastic credit cards.

The Internet giant, at a press conference at its New York headquarters with financial partners Citibank, MasterCard and First Data and telecom ally Sprint, said 'Google Wallet' is being field tested and will be available this summer.

Google Wallet will initially work with Google's Nexus S 4G smartphone from Sprint, the third-largest US wireless provider, and will eventually be expanded to more phones equipped with near field communication (NFC) technology.

An NFC chip embedded in a phone allows a user who has entered their credit card details to 'tap-and-pay' for purchases at a checkout register equipped with the PayPass system from CitiMasterCard.

NFC technology uses short-range, high frequency wireless to enable the encrypted exchange of information between devices at a short distance.

Customers can also use a Google Prepaid card to pay for purchases, topping up the Google card with any payment card, and take advantage of Google Offers, the Mountain View, California-based company's online discount coupon program. Google said Google Wallet will be accepted at more than 124,000 merchants in the United States at launch and more than 311,000 around the world. -- AFP

Source
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_673215.html

[Curt]

This is great!

Now someone can pick your pocket from a different continent!

[Jasonkoh82]

More report can be found here

Google announces Wallet and Offers, aims to reinvent the wallet

Today Google pulled the wraps off its two new services set to change the way we shop. Google Wallet and Google Offers are said to be the next big thing in commerce, making your ordinary wallet obsolete in a few years time as the programs gain the needed momentum.



As we told you yesterday, Google Wallet is an Android app and is going to operate thanks to the NFC chip found in some of the currently existing and many of the upcoming smartphones. For now the new mobile-payment method is supported only in the USA, thanks to Sprint and the Samsung Nexus S 4G, with other major partners being Citi Bank, MasterCard and First Data.

The first merchants and stores to accept mobile payment through Google Wallet are Subway, American Eagle, Macy's and American Outfitters along many others.

Google Offers is tightly connected with the Wallet app. After you make a purchase, depending on the store you are in, you will be able to receive special coupons or loyalty points, which you can use at a later point in time.

Undoubtedly, Google Offers is taking aim at Groupon, the current leader in discount offers and deals. Currently, only a couple of major cities in the United States are able to get deals from Google Offers, but the smart money is on many more following, including some in countries outside North America.

Google is certain the Wallet application will be used not only for purchasing consumer goods, but also for getting tickets, boarding passes, storing IDs, keys and basically everything your ordinary wallet can hold.

While both services will be in a testing period for the next couple of months, Google is certain to expand the coverage area of both Wallet and Offers fast. And finally, take a look at this video, in which the first batch of merchants supporting Google Wallet share their thoughts.



Source
http://www.gsmarena.com/google_walle...-news-2690.php

[Khun Don]

PayPal sues Google over electronic wallet
PayPal alleges that search giant hired two of its former executives to obtain trade secrets for mobile transactions project
guardian.co.uk, Friday 27 May 2011 08.28 BST


Google vice president of payments Osama Bedier demonstrates how Google Wallet will work. Photograph: Mary Altaffer/AP
Google's first payments from its new "electronic wallet" system may be to the online transaction company PayPal, which claims that the company and two of its executives stole trade secrets for the project.

Unveiled on Thursday, the Google Wallet project uses a technology called Near Field Communications (NFC) to allow contactless transactions between consumers' phones and merchants' terminals.

But PayPal has filed suit in California following the launch in New York, alleging that Google lured away PayPal executive Osama Bedier earlier this year to obtain trade secrets that are now being used in Google's service. The suit also names Stephanie Tilenius.

Both Bedier, now Google's vice president of payments, and Tilenius were among those showing off the technology in New York.

The wallet app itself will require a PIN, as will each transaction. The payment credentials will be encrypted and stored on a chip, called the secure element, inside the phone. The app itself will be free to users.

Google emphasised that the wallet service would be open to all businesses and invited other banks, credit card issuers, payment networks, mobile carriers and merchants to work with it. If the phone was stolen, the credit cards inside could be remotely disabled. Consumers would have the same "zero liability" for unauthorised transactions made with their phone as they would with their plastic cards.

The suit also alleges Bedier was interviewing for a job at Google while he was also negotiating for PayPal to handle sales in Google's application market for phones running on its Android software.

The suit said Bedier worked for nine years at PayPal, most recently serving as vice president of platform, mobile and new ventures. He joined Google on 24 January 2011. Tilenius was at eBay from 2001 to October 2009, and served as a consultant to the company until March 2010.

The suit says Tilenius joined Google in February 2010 as vice president of e-commerce. Bedier is accused in the suit of having "misappropriated PayPal trade secrets by disclosing them within Google and to major retailers".

The suit accuses Tilenius of recruiting Bedier, thereby breaking a contractual agreement with eBay. It also claims Bedier attempted to recruit former colleagues still at PayPal.

The suit claims that PayPal and Google had worked closely together for three years until this year on developing a commercial deal where PayPal would serve as a payment option for mobile app purchases on Google's Android phones.

It said Bedier was the senior PayPal executive leading negotiations with Google on Android during this period.

"At the very point when the companies were negotiating and finalising the Android-PayPal deal, Bedier was interviewing for a job at Google – without informing PayPal of this conflicting position," the suit claims.

The suit was filed at Superior Court of the State of California. Google had no comment, saying it had not seen a copy of the lawsuit.

[Jerome]

We've had this in Japan for 5 years now.
Plans are underway to integrate train commuter passes as well.

[paul_au]

Works well until your battery goes flat.

[Jasonkoh82]

Google vows to fight suit over mobile 'Wallet'


Within hours of the unveiling of 'Google Wallet' on Thursday, eBay and PayPal filed a lawsuit charging the Internet giant tapped into the online financial transaction service's know-how for the mobile payments project. -- PHOTO: AP

SAN FRANCISCO - GOOGLE on Friday rejected a charge that it swiped PayPal trade secrets to build its new mobile application that turns a smartphone into an electronic wallet.

Within hours of the unveiling of 'Google Wallet' on Thursday, eBay and PayPal filed a lawsuit charging the Internet giant tapped into the online financial transaction service's know-how for the mobile payments project.

PayPal spent three years trying to work out a deal in which it would handle payments for Android smartphones, only to see Google scuttle the talks and hire PayPal lead negotiator Osama Bedier, according to court documents.

'Silicon Valley was built on the ability of individuals to use their knowledge and expertise to seek better employment opportunities, an idea recognised by both California law and public policy,' a Google spokesman told AFP. 'We respect trade secrets, and will defend ourselves against these claims.'

Mr Bedier worked at the eBay-owned online financial services unit as a vice president of platform, mobile, and new ventures until being hired in January by Google. He played a central role at Google's official unveiling of Google Wallet on Thursday with financial partners Citibank, MasterCard and First Data and telecom ally Sprint.

'(Mr Bedier) had an intimate knowledge of PayPal's capabilities, strategies, plans, and market intelligence regarding mobile payment and related technologies,' the lawsuit said. 'He is now leading Google's efforts to bring point of sale technologies and services to retailers on its behalf.' Google Wallet is being field tested and will be available this year. -- AFP

Source
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking...ry_673588.html

[Jasonkoh82]

We've had this in Japan for 5 years now.
Plans are underway to integrate train commuter passes as well.

Interesting, what if the battery run out? Like what paul said? Does the NFC chip work separately?

[Jerome]

I wanted an iPhone so I unfortunately have to use the worse mobile provider in Japan, which is Softbank. Docomo has been doing the payment thing for a few years. I don't use them so I cannot comment on what happens when the battery dies.
Use cash I suppose?

[paul_au]

Next point, what happens when there is no mobile signal, Probably your back to using cash.