Google Wallet for mobile turns your Android smartphone into a purchase payment device, simplifying online and in-store shopping in a new and innovative way. The Google Wallet mobile app is paving the way for the future of card-less transactions, letting users store credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, and loyalty cards on secure Google cloud servers. Users can access the card data by accessing the Google Wallet Android app and tapping their mobile device to an NFC terminal during checkout.
Google’s mobile wallet app has additional features like an “Explore” tab that shows users deals going on near their location via Google Offers, which are automatically synced to Google Wallet.
Google Wallet is likely the inevitable payment method of the future, but the Google mobile wallet virtual payment method is having a slow time taking off due to the lack of user adoption and the scarcity of NFC terminals.
One of the reasons the Google Wallet app hasn’t really taken off in popularity is that many users are hesitant about putting their credit cards in the hands of Google. The idea of having your payment data floating around in the invisible Google cloud can be a bit off-putting. However, Google takes numerous measures to protect card payment data, easily trumping the non-existent protection of keeping cards in a standard physical wallet.
Password Protection: Google Wallet has a 4-digit PIN code that must be typed in before making a purchase, preventing unauthorized access.
Remote Control: Everyone hates getting their phone stolen, and if your phone also serves as a method of payment, a mobile device theft becomes an even more terrifying event. Google Wallet puts these troubles at ease by making it easy for users to control their Google Wallet account remotely. Control your Google Wallet account at wallet.google.com/manage. From there, you can disable your phone from making purchases, while still keeping your cards safe and preventing the hassle of canceling all your cards.
Encryption: Cards stored on your Google Wallet account are encrypted on secure servers. When you make a payment in-store, Google actually pays the business, and then processes the transaction with your card, which means that neither the merchant nor the Android operating system ever has access to your card and payment data.
Card Numbers Hidden: When your cards appear on screen with the Google Wallet app, the numbers are not visible. When Google Wallet is used as an online payment method, only the card’s last four digits are shown.
Google Wallet locations are not abundant since the use of NFC readers is still developing, but there still are many merchants that are Google Wallet capable. Here are a few of the more popular stores where Google Wallet is accepted :
There are advantages to becoming a Google Wallet merchant – speedier checkouts for customers and a boost in loyalty card use, since the need of a physical card become obsolete. Google Wallet also doesn’t charge merchants any fee for making payment using Google Wallet.
NFC readers vary in size and price. For more information about purchasing NFC readers, contact a Google Wallet representative.