Okay Geek Farm
Google Wallet borrows Google Wave logo -- available now for Nexus S 4G handsets
Ricardo Trejo
Remember Google Wave? Yeah, neither do we… but it seems that Google does and decided to borrow its sleeping logo for better use on their new Google Wallet service. What’s the infamous search engine giant up to now? Well, think of the NFC enabled smartphones often seen in Japan where consumers can simply swipe their phone alongside a ‘pay pass’ station and pay for goods without any actual money being physically transferred. Google’s newest app is pretty much doing the same thing, however giving virtual versions of your real life credit cards to be used when you got out.
The premise isn’t anything new but Google’s version of doing things really changes the way it operates. To give you a basic idea of why Google decided to go in this direction of mobile payments here’s George Costanza:
So that didn’t explain much but it was great to see our favorite bumbling ‘first world problem’ character once again. Now onto the actual demo video of what Google Wallet really is and how it all works:
The PIN code necessary to access the app and the virtual credit cards is a relief to hear about, though it doesn’t truly solve the issue with real-life wallets since we still gotta carry driver’s licenses and so on with us, right?
But what was interesting was the prospect of loyalty programs where returning customers of locations can get rewarded for their continued patronage.
If you have a Nexus S 4G on Sprint you can get in on the ‘beta’ right now — just download the Google Wallet app. However, the only supported card at the moment is Citi Mastercards, though Visa / Discover / American Express support is on its way.
