We can now add Google to the long line of businesses looking for the holy grail of mobile payments.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Google is to team with Citigroup and Mastercard to create a mobile payment system that will turn Android phones into electronic wallets.
The Google near field communications (NFC) payment technology, will allow consumers to wave their Android phones in front of a small reader at the checkout counter to make payments, according to the report.
The planned payment system would allow Google to offer retailers more data about their customers and help them target advertisements and discount offers to mobile device users near their stores, the sources told the WSJ.
Initially, holders of Citigroup-issued debit and credit cards would be allowed to pay for purchases by activating a mobile payment application developed for one current model and many coming models of Android phones, the paper said.
Aside from Google, practically every other manufacturer has either come forward or is rumoured to be looking at NFC, and notable names on the NFC list include Nokia, Apple, LG etc
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