Like every other new idea, Google Wallet also has attracted its fair share of detractors who don’t think the service will succeed. This is obvious as in case of any new service as most people don’t know how it works, and how it may go on to succeed.
Many companies were thinking of using mobiles for making payments, but with Google Wallet, Google turned out to be the first company to make a major move on it.
It’s not that all the services launched by Google have been run away hits. There have been several products, for example Google Wave and Google Buzz, which though were innovative and cool but didn’t work well in the market.
Google Wallet is the most detailed effort made by the internet giant on the mobile payments front.
The Google Nexus S owners just have to download the Google Wallet App from Android Market, and tap their phones at NFC point of sale terminal to make the payment for the retail goods they are buying.
Google has also launched a Groupon type service, which offers local deals to the users along with Google Wallet. It is expected to work as an incentive for the users to participate.
Initially, Google Wallet concept will be used in San Francisco and New York. The merchants participating are also limited and there is only one handset, Google Nexus S, fitted with NFC (near-field-communication) chips.
Google’s ambitions are laudable but the challenges before it are equally big. The location based search and its operating system Android are the two big benefits for the company, which may eliminate some of its competitors from the mobile payments competition.
Some analysts suggest that being the first into the market matters, but ramping up the operations is a different matter altogether and by the time Google does this, other bigger players such as Apple and Amazon may also enter the fray.
The iPhone from Apple is compatible with the App Square which allows users to accept payments from credit cards, and the market is abuzz with rumours that the next version of iPhones may also come embedded with NFC chips. The iPhone users are already comfortable with sharing payment information with Apple as they shop on iTunes and App Store.