Google Wallet, Google's groundbreaking initiative to allow U.S. consumers to
pay for items using their phone as a virtual credit card, simply works.
That's good news for Google, because millions of Americans already know how
to pay with a plastic credit card. However, Wallet currently lacks the
conveniences and benefits that will be needed for its long-term success.
Google Wallet has been launched in a public trial, the new jargon for a beta
test, about four
months after its introduction. Using a small near-field communications
(NFC) antenna mounted inside the rear of the phone, an embedded security token,
and some accompanying software, Google Wallet allows users to simply tap (or
touch) the phone to a payment terminal. Money is automatically debited from an
attached credit card.
Why use Google Wallet? Because it implicitly promises that you'll eventually
be able to leave your wallet at home, or at least stuff your driver's license
into a shirt pocket.
"Really, this is a tool for consumers," said Marc Freed-Finnegan,
the senior business product manager for Google Wallet, in an interview.
"We hold your card. We hold your stuff. And we pass the card to the
merchant, as if you tapped a plastic card. Google isn't processing, we're not
in the middle of the transaction, and we're just creating this tool to organize
your life, create money with offers, and organize your life with your loyalty
card."
Google
announced Google Wallet in May, saying then that Google Wallet will work on
Sprint's Nexus S 4G, MasterCard credit cards issued by Citi, and at retailers
equipped with Mastercard's PayPass terminals. The transactions will be
processed by First Data, an Atlanta-based company.
On that score, nothing has changed, leaving Google Wallet available to just
a small subset of phone users who have purchased a Nexus S. (Nexus S owners
will be able to download the Wallet app from the Android Market today as part
of an "expanded public trial".) Over time, though, Google is expected
to add Wallet capabilities to more and more phones, assisted by its purchase of
Motorola's cell-phone business. For now, unfortunately, it's easy to dismiss
Google Wallet as a nice gimmick to impress workers manning the counter at
popular national fast-food restaurants.
Google said it has also licensed the Visa, Discover and American
Express NFC specifications, so that those cards can be entered into future
iterations of the Google Wallet. "With this partnership, Visa account
holders will now be able to use Google Wallet through Visa payWave," at
hundreds of thousands of terminals worldwide," a Visa spokeswoman said in
an email.
It's also worth noting that Visa and PayPal have also
promised their own NFC solutions, but Google is first out of the gate.
Apple, so far, has remained quiet.
How it works
I wrote previously that what Google Wallet needs
to succeed is to establish itself as a habit. After testing Google Wallet
with a Google-supplied Nexus S off an on for several weeks, I can report that
is in fact the case. Google Wallet is also about as fast as paying with a
credit or debit card.
Here's how it works: you open the Google Wallet app, punch in a 4-digit PIN
code to unlock it, and then, when it comes time to pay, touch the phone to the
terminal. Behind the scenes, the NFC radio transfers the money securely. The
transaction takes just a split second; the phone vibrates, and its screen
displays "Sent!" No signature required - you're done.
Simple, right? For the most part, yes.
The first time I flew solo on Wallet, it didn't work. It may have been my
fault; I was unfamiliar with the technology, I was in line at the pharmacy to
pick up a prescription, and I didn't want to fool around. But you'll also
notice that transactions won't go through because the person behind the counter
simply doesn't know you've paid. Remember, they're trained to look for a
customer swiping a card.
By the end of the trial, however, using Wallet came naturally. Enter the PIN
("PIN in," in Googlespeak), tap, and go.
Before you pay, however, you'll need to know how to actually load funds into
the Wallet. Users have a choice of either using a Citi Mastercard or, as most
will choose, a Mastercard-backed Google Prepaid Card that already exists inside
the Wallet app. Google implicitly encourages using the latter, and will give
you a free $10 if you load it by the end of the year. If you've ever used a
phone card or some rail passes, the concept of "topping up" the card
by periodically adding funds to it shouldn't be too foreign.
In either case, you'll need to link the Citi Mastercard to an actual
physical card you own, or link the Google Card to your existing credit card.
Tapping the "Payment Cards" icon within Google Wallet reveals how
much money you have available. Tapping the Google Prepaid Card again also
allows you to top up the card and displays a user ID and phone number to call
in case of problems. You'll be dealing with the Money Network, a third party
that Google has contracted with to administer the card.
Continue Next