Google Wallet brings 'wave and pay'

By Emma Barnett, Digital Media Editor

The search company made the announcement back in May 2011, but until now, has yet to launch a first version of the app.

Using near-field communications (NFC) technology, the Wallet is “aimed at making it easier for you to pay for and save on the goods you want, while giving merchants more ways to offer coupons and loyalty programs to customers, as well as bridging the gap between online and offline commerce”, Google said in its May blog post.

The mobile app means a single phone can store a multitude of cards and be sent offers, as well as keep track of a user’s spending.

The first version of the app only supports a Citi Mastercard and a Google prepaid card. It will work wherever the contactless Mastercard ‘PayPass’ is installed.

As a thanks to early adopters, Google is adding a $10 free bonus to the Google Prepaid Card if US users set it up in Google Wallet before the end of the year.
 
Additionally Google announced via its company blog last night that Visa, Discover and American Express have all made their NFC specifications available that could enable their cards to be added to future versions of Google Wallet.

“Our goal is to make it possible for you to add all of your payment cards to Google Wallet, so you can say goodbye to even the biggest traditional wallets,” wrote Osama Bedier, vice president of Google’s payments teams.

“This is still just the beginning, and while we’re excited about this first step, we look forward to bringing Google Wallet to more phones in the future.” Telegraph