Google has lunched wireless payment System on Thursday 26th May 2011.
The New form of mobile payment will start off with MasterCard, Citibank and unfortunately , but understandably only for Google’s Nexus S handsets. Over 124 thousand merchants are already equipped with the MasterCard’s PayPass terminals that will allow the transaction to take place.nfc-phone-payment
Other retailer such as American Eagle Outfitters, Subway and Macy’s are gearing up for it although only retailers in the New York and San Francisco area will be supported first.
Google is planning on diving into the NFC (near-field communication) technology that will allow customers to wave their phone in front of a credit card reader and that sends an encrypted signal to the merchant with the person’s credit card infos.
The Google Nexus S phone has the NFC chip incorporated in the handset which is the only way for the mobile wallet to work. Latest rumors around the upcoming iPhone 5 (or 4S) are saying that the handset will not include the NFC technology. Too bad.
Google plans to use a technology called near-field communication, or N.F.C., which is incorporated into a chip in mobile phones to make payments, redeem coupons, earn loyalty points and receive special offers. When a phone is waved in front of a credit card reader, it wirelessly sends an encrypted signal with a person’s credit card information. After that, the transaction is processed like a normal credit card transaction at a store.
Google’s announcement has been expected since it introduced the latest version of its Android mobile phone software, which has the capacity for N.F.C., and its Nexus S phone, which includes an N.F.C. chip.
Representatives for Google, MasterCard, Citigroup and Sprint, a carrier for Google’s Nexus phones, declined to comment.