14 DAY TRIAL // Google is set to hold an event later today to make some big announcement. That's all the official info available. However, rumors said that the company will launch a new payments service, based on near filed communication technology.
Now, we have a confirmation of sorts, though not from Google, since one of the companies involved in the trial stage of the new system, The Container Store, spoiled Google's surprise and told everyone what the company was revealing at the event.
The NFC-based payments system will be dubbed Google Wallet and will work pretty much as has been rumored, customers will be able to use their phones with special devices in stores to pay for stuff, redeem coupons and so on.
"This summer Google will launch a test of 'contactless' payment through a mobile device--so customers will be able to just tap a special device and pay with their phone in stores at POS!," a memo sent out by The Container Store and published by Thisismynext.com revealed.
"And this Thursday, Google will announce all of the innovative retailers who will be participating in their test," the memo added.
"Stay tuned for many more details regarding this test of Google Wallet and the participating markets," it continued confirming the name.
"We won't start this program September 1st, but thought that we should all have the heads up," it added.
Along with what has been revealed so far, the new info provides quite a thorough picture of what Google has cooking. The service will be dubbed Google Wallet and will be based on NFC.
Google is rolling out the service in a few cities at first, New York and San Francisco, but possibly in other places as well. Key to this being a success is support from real life locations, so the partners that Google has managed to get in line for the launch are crucial.
From the looks of things, it managed to convince card reader makers to get involved, but this was the easy part. One key player could be Citigroup which may handle the financial part along with MaterCard.
But all of this is moot if Google doesn't get retailers to deploy the payment system. A couple of names have been rumored, one has been confirmed, The Container Store, obviously, but it should be interesting to see what Google has to announce and who else is on that list.