back to article Google Wallet teams with Citi, MasterCard

Google has announced its NFC-enabled Google Wallet app and introduced its first banking partner: the world's largest financial services company, Citigroup. "Citi's role as the lead bank in Google Wallet is the latest demonstration of how we are committed to becoming the world's digital bank," Citi's Global Enterprise Payments …

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  1. Radelix

    wont give up my wallet...yet

    I imagine that this will eventually integrate with google checkout which of course I already have card info entered. Not sure I want my ID and boarding passes on there yet. I am intrigued to watch this evolution though

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Pretty obvious

      Google wants to tie their airfare search - the recent ITA Systems deal - with this boarding pass NFC thing.

      After all - if you have an Android - during a flight is one of the few times Google doesn't know where you are going (GPS doesn't work so well inside the metallic frame of planes).

      This way they do and can make sure to have the right ads ready for your arrival.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Alert

    Why?

    Call me a Luddite but I'm still trying to grasp what problem this is attempting to solve. While there may be something to digital coupons and loyalty programs, I'm at a loss as to why I should use this instead of carrying a credit card. My card takes up very little space, doesn't require a battery and just generally works...

    Just because you can do not mean you should.

    1. Walt French

      Think of the (Google) Children!

      This will benefit merchants who can tie (Google) adverts to (Google) purchases. It'll allow other (Google) advertisers to know your purchasing habits, so to try to entice you to competitive or complementary shops with better (Google) ads the next time you go online or play a game.

      Remember Google is an ad agency and derives more than 100% of its profits by selling your eyeballs and potential purchases, to businesses. Whatever it takes to capture your attention.

      YOU are their product, my bewildered friend, not their customer.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      Re: WHY?

      @AC: "Call me a Luddite but I'm still trying to grasp what problem this is attempting to solve."

      Perhaps you've not been subjected to the commercials (by ShittiBank, IIRC) showing some commercial endeavor, with all the good consumer-units marching through in rapid succession, parting with their monetary units via credit cards as rapidly as possible, when one rouge unit brings everything to a screeching halt by having the temerity of using a *check*.

      The "problem" this is "solving" is that it takes too long for you to

      a) locate your wallet

      b) extract your credit card

      c) scan it (it always makes me uncomfortable to say "swipe" - the last thing I want is somebody to swipe MY card!)

      d) approve the charge.

      You might actually have time to THINK - to CONSIDER the monetary units you are spending. You might, horror of horrors, RECONSIDER your decision, and not CONSUME like a good unit!

      No, we must enable you to spend all your hard-earned monetary units as quickly as possible, preferably without truly recognizing how much of your LIFE you are parting with.

      CONSUME AND REPRODUCE. THIS IS YOUR GOD. STAY ASLEEP.

      Mine's the one with the special sunglasses in the breast pocket.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh joy

    Only works on one phone and one carrier (US only)

    Top-up credit or selected Citi cards only. Who wants top up payments? It's a major pain.

    Phone has to be powered on (no battery no cash, great)

    Yet another service you have to join, no Google Checkout integration.

    Google, Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint will all now get to see (and make money out of) your purchase history - to be fair that's only adding Google and Sprint to the existing mix, but still...

    Worse of all is the logo seems to have been resurrected from Google Wave. Guess it's a sign of how successful it'll be.

  4. DZ-Jay

    Uh-oh... time start that petition again!

    With Google and Citi-group teaming together, the weight of their collective back-end data collection and mining engines may create a rip in the fabric of time-space, enough to suck the entire universe through it!

    It's looking like the end of the world is really coming up fast on the third quarter!

    -dZ.

  5. Radelix

    Again I already have google checkout setup

    It would be very silly for Google to not leverage the fact that I have not 1 but ( I just checked my dashboard) 2 cards already registered with them. Citi sends me an application for a credit card every week and I trash them or burn them. I already have 3 credit cards and a debit card and I dont need another just to use this tech that will part me and my money faster.

  6. rcs

    why is this new?

    I am a little puzzled as to why that should be something new. In Japan almost everybody is using a RFID card either charged with cash at a machine or automatically via a credit card to pay contactless for almost all train and local transit fares as well as many shops and vending machines around train stations (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suica for the most common system).

    Some Japanese cell phones have these RFID chips included.

    You just pass it close to a reader (without opening your wallet) - believe me especially during rush hours this is quite convenient as the flow does not stop at the ticket gates.

    So I guess the question is, what took you so long, Google and rest of the world (with the exception of a few other Asian countries AFAIK)?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Credit cards?

    Too bad that google does not allow anything else than a credit card as a money source. I don't have one and I don't want one. Because of their pigheadedness I am forced to not pay for apps on my android phone, but instead use something like appmarket to download them for free.

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