Whilst contactless credit cards are set to revolutionise the way we pay for goods and services,
Google has come up with an alternative solution to safe, secure payment. As the Daily Mail
reports, ‘Google has masterminded a mobile phone that doubles as a wallet.’
Customers will be able to simply swipe their phone against an electronic reader to pay. The
newspaper also reports that ‘experts claim it is a safer method of payment than magnetic strip credit
cards.’
Mobile payment system being developed for Android phones
Google has joined forces with Citigroup and Mastercard to develop a mobile payment system
specifically for the Android phone.
They have also been in talks with VeriFone Systems which makes credit card readers for cash
registers. Doug Bergeron, VeriFone’s chief executive, told the Wall Street Journal: “A phone is a lot
smarter than a card. It opens the door to a rich experience at the point of sale that retailers really
covet.”
The smartphone can also store shopping habits and details of transactions which will let retailers and
other businesses more accurately target consumers with advertisements and discounts.
Mobile phone payment safer than credit cards
Experts also claim that using a mobile phone to make a payment is safer than using a traditional
credit card.
Nick Holland, a mobile-transactions analyst at Yankee Group, said: “Because it’s contact-less there’s
a perception people can grab it from thin air, but it’s actually a more sophisticated technology
than credit cards with a magnetic stripe, making it more difficult to steal a consumer’s payment
information.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, holders of Citigroup-issued credit and debit cards would be
allowed to pay for purchases using a mobile payment application developed for one current model
and many coming models of Android phones.
