Google Integrates with Sprint and Teams with Mastercard and Citigroup for a Cashless Society

Google Plans to Turn Your Android Phone into an Electronic Wallet

March 28, 2011

TIME - In the future, you better not lose your Android phone. Google is teaming up with MasterCard and Citigroup to turn your Android phone into a portable wallet, allowing you to pay for purchases simply by waving your phone around.

It would basically enable Citigroup credit and debit cardholders to pay for purchases easily using NFC technology. Instead of swiping a card, customers would just be able to wave their phone in front of a reader. Earlier this month, whispers were getting thrown around that Google may indeed be launching a mobile payment system. Well, I'll be darned if that's not a coincidence.

The payment system is being developed for upcoming Android models; however, Google's Nexus S has already been shown to come with an NFC chip. With Apple's iPhone 5 also rumored to get similar technology, it could be an interesting shake-up in the upcoming future.

In addition to the payment technology, Android users would also be able to manage credit-card accounts and track spending through their phone.

Engadget says Google has already filed a patent that places the company,

“…as a third-party broker who receives the shopping cart [information] of customers…”

Google is expected to use the data culled to offer retailers more information, and, of course, better target ads and promotions toward phone users. Google, though despite its role, won't be receiving a cut of any transaction fees.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart representatives already begun preliminary talks with Google. The Journal also went on to say that the new Google system is expected to be released later this year.

Use Your Phone to Pay for That Dress, Courtesy Google

Google is joining Citigroup and Mastercard to set up a mobile payment system that will turn Android phones into a kind of electronic wallet, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. The new technology, which is in its early stages, will allow consumers to wave their Android phones in front of a small reader at the checkout counter to make payments, the Journal reported. 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. Google is not expected to get a cut of the transaction fees, the paper said. 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. - Google Working on Mobile Payment Technology: Report Reuters, March 28, 2011

March 15, 2011

TIME - You're wrapping up dinner at your favorite restaurant, but how do you reply to the maître d' who hands you the bill and asks "paper, plastic, or semiconductor"?

With your phone, of course, and that's just what Google's hoping you'll do when its new mobile payment service goes live sometime during the next four months, according to sources whispering to Bloomberg.

While Google hasn't announced the test publicly, word is the company plans to deploy thousands of high-tech checkout machines from VeriFone, known for its electronic payment products. Think "tap-to-pay" checkout for clothes, restaurants, toys--even concert tickets. All you'll need is a phone capable of "near-field-communication," a new wireless protocol that lets devices chat at distances of around 4 centimeters or less. Google's already demonstrated NFC working in Gingerbread-flavored versions of its Android phones.

Bloomberg's tipsters say Google's service could mix your financial info with everything from gift and loyalty cards to coupon subscriptions. Hello Star Trek then, except we're talking the conceptual descendants of those fat little flip-top communicators in lieu of invisible credits tied to slender cards.

Where's Apple's iPhone in all this? Apple's reportedly eyeballing NFC technology in the iPhone 5, but don't look for Google to reach across the aisle anytime soon. The company's Android operating system would be the surefire beneficiary of a Google-driven mobile transaction system. In fact the will-they-or-won't-they merchant support question heralds a whole new dimension in the ongoing mobile device smackdown.

Add EBay's PayPal to the party, which already lets you send payments by phone, as well as ISIS, a "mobile wallet" venture endorsed by Verizon and AT&T, and you're looking at the new "Visa or Mastercard?" wars of the twenty-first century.

Complete Integration of Google Voice and 50 Million Sprint Customers, Plus 4G Nexus S

March 21, 2011

TechCrunch - This is the biggest news about Google Voice since the company behind it, previously called Grand Central, was acquired by Google in 2007. They’ve integrated with Sprint. What that means is you are one of Sprint’s 50 million U.S. customers, your Sprint phone number is now also a Google Voice number. And If you’re already a Google Voice subscriber, you can use that number on your Sprint phone without the need for any software. Details are at google.com/voice/sprint.

Here’s how it works. If you are currently a Sprint customer, you can opt in to make that Sprint phone number your Google Voice phone number. This isn’t number porting, Sprint retains control of your number. They simply tell Google when you make or receive calls, and forward that call to other phones if you’ve chosen those options. Google also takes over the voicemail for the phone, and long distance calls are completed by Google at Google’s very low international rates.

In other words, if you have a Sprint phone you can choose to make that a Google Voice phone as well. And get all the benefits of Google Voice, like having it ring to any phone you control, initiating and receiving calls from Gmail, hilarious voicemail transcriptions, etc.

And the partnership is two way as well. If you already have a Google Voice phone number, you can have your Sprint mobile phone make outbound calls using that number as well. Previously you had to use a Google Voice app, or initiate phone calls through a mobile web browser, to make that happen.

This kind of integration is far more useful to users, and far less painful to set up, than number porting, which Google launched earlier this year.

And if that’s not enough, Google is also announcing today the availability of its first 4G and CDMA version of the Nexus S Android phone, available with Sprint.

This Is Meaningful

This is a meaningful partnership. Not just for Sprint users, who can now have the benefits of Google Voice and use their phone number anywhere they want. The carriers have rarely done much that makes sense for their users. The fact that Sprint is willing to give up control of the phone number for those who want to use Google Voice shows that there is actual competition breaking out in the U.S. mobile world, and a willingness to try bold new things to differentiate products. I’ve had my issues with Sprint in the past, but this is a brilliant move by them.

Read More...