A few high-profile sites have been reporting on a BusinessWeek article which seems to confirm that Google is looking into its own mobile payment service using NFC technology.
From ReadWriteWeb:
According to “two people familiar with the plans,” Google may launch the new mobile payments service, which allows consumers to tap or wave their mobile phones at a cash register to pay for their purchases, sometime this year.
ReadWriteWeb then goes on to run-down why this is just a matter of connecting the dots, looking at Google’s recent acquisition of a mobile payments company, additions to its Android smartphone operating system, a local advertising programme it’s trialling (“Hotpot“) and its attempt to buy group buying monster Groupon.
“Tap and Pay”
SearchEngineLand also covers the story, pointing to this video of Google’s Eric Schmidt explaining about NFC technology. Within the first couple of minutes he explains how phones could become credit cards, and of course, much more:
photo credit: Max Braun