Now you can get rid of the plastic cards that your wallet is full with, just use your mobile with the freely app from Google.
Google announced officially its NFC-based Google Wallet mobile payment service, complete with backing from a number of retail and financial partners including Subway, Macy’s, Walgreens, Toys ‘R Us, First Data, Citibank and MasterCard — plus Sprint on the carrier side. In the case of MasterCard, that partnership means Google Wallet will be fully compatible with the PayPass contactless payment system that’s already widely in place today.
Trials are beginning immediately in New York and San Francisco, with a full release planned for this summer. Initially, the Sprint Nexus S 4G will be the only compatible phone, but support for more phones is promised “over time,” and Google even suggested that phones without built-in NFC could simply use an NFC sticker (the Google Wallet app itself will work on non-NFC phones as well). You’ll also have to use either a Citi MasterCard or Google Prepaid Card with the service, although the latter can obviously be funded from any other card.
Google has partnered with a number of major retailers, as well as Citibank, MasterCard, and the merchant processing service First Data in field tests, beginning today, and plans to release the product this summer in San Francisco and New York. Retail partners include Macy’s, Subway, Walgreens, Toys”R”Us, Noah’s Bagels, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Foot Locker, The Container Store, and American Eagle Outfitters.