wallet

SAN FRANCISCO--Google Wallet is growing up and it's not just about paying for stuff by tapping your phone anymore.

On Wednesday, the company made three announcements at its Google I/O developer conference with regard to Google Wallet that take the service well beyond specialized tap and go technology to make Google Wallet more usable on the Web.

"We are not pulling away from NFC," Peter Hazlehurst, director of product management for Google Wallet said in an interview. "We are simply making a much richer Wallet experience. There are still places where NFC can't be … Read more

"Are you still jumping out of windows in expensive clothes?" asks Tom Waits in his song, "Who are you?"

It would be beyond surprising to see Google fling more of its hardware out of low-flying dirigibles, strapped to wingsuits and courageous stuntmen, at this year's Google I/O, which begins on Wednesday.

But make no mistake: Google knows exactly "who" it is, and it's taking the confidence earned from a year of solid hits and few misses, and a strong first quarter of 2013, to define the parameters that it wants other … Read more

Google has some new additions to show off for its Wallet service. A physical card, however, won't be one of them.

The company is expected to update its rewards, offers, and loyalty points program to include a wider number of merchants at Google I/O next week. Google had also planned to introduce a physical credit card linked to Google Wallet, but the company has scrapped those plans, according to AllThingsD.

Google Wallet has been the company's attempt to breach the burgeoning -- but still nascent -- mobile payments business. But the service has seen limited adoption, partly … Read more

The head of Google Wallet -- the Web giant's mobile payments initiative -- has left the company, Google confirmed Wednesday.

"We can confirm that Osama Bedier has decided to leave Google this year to pursue other opportunities," Google spokesman Nate Tyler said in a statement. "He's achieved a lot during his time here and we wish him all the best in his next endeavor. Payments are a big part of what people do every day, and we're committed to making them easier for everyone."

Bedier joined Google in 2011, leaving eBay's PayPal … Read more

Google's update to an e-commerce tool used by vendors to manage sales is merely for show, charges a consumer advocacy group, which adds that the company should be more clear about its privacy policies.

The update, used in conjunction with Google Play and other services, displays less of a customer's personal information to the vendor than the previous iteration, reports the Android-watching blog DroidLife. The update to the e-commerce tool is rolling out to vendors now and over the next few weeks. But consumer advocacy site Consumer Watchdog says Google's move is not an "actual" … Read more

Apple may shake up the next version of iOS with the introduction of a true mobile wallet, forecasts Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty.

Dubbed a "killer app" by the analyst, the mobile wallet feature would surface as part of iOS 7, which Apple is expected to preview at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

Huberty's prediction echoes that of fellow Apple analyst Gene Munster, who also thinks a digital wallet is in Apple's future. However, Munster believes the technology won't surface on iOS devices for another year or two.

Apple got its feet wet in … Read more

Apple may finally step its toes into the digital wallet world over the next year or two, forecasts Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.

The analyst believes a payment option for iOS users may launch with the iPhone 6 in the first half of 2014. Apple will use a technology other than or in addition to near-field communications (NFC), but its system will work with existing mobile payment solutions.

The company already has one major asset ripe for a digital wallet system -- its users.

Apple holds the key to around 500 million iTunes users and their linked credit cards, which … Read more

Digital wallet operators, like Google, PayPal, and others, should be charged a fee for offering such a service, according to Visa CEO Charlie Scharf.

Speaking at the Barclays Emerging Payments Forum yesterday, Scharf said "it is totally appropriate" for credit card companies to charge digital wallet operators a fee on all transactions, according to Reuters, which was in attendance.

Scharf's comments come after eBay revealed in a February regulatory filing that MasterCard was planning to charge it a fee for its digital wallet service starting in June. The actual amount PayPal pays isn't expected to be … Read more

Consumers may one day ditch their plastic credit cards, but that doesn't mean that they'll abandon their credit card companies.

In fact, the move from a leather wallet to a digital one could be a boon for companies like Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express.

Digital wallets, which allow users to store their credit cards, retail loyalty cards, coupons and even tickets in digital form on a mobile device, have been one of the most talked about emerging segments of the mobile market. Everyone from Google to Apple to Microsoft to PayPal to wireless carriers and even retailers … Read more