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back to article Wireless pay-by-bonk? Yawn... Google Wallet now lets you pay by CARD

Americans with Google Wallet accounts will soon be able to use the mobile payment service in a lot more places, thanks to the new Google Wallet Card. "The Google Wallet Card is a debit card that lets you quickly access your Wallet Balance, whether you've received it from a friend or added it directly from a linked bank account …

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  1. Mikel

    Pay by tap

    I used this once. Not many stores have the reader, but I found one to try. It works.

    Not sure I need another debit card.

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    1. Thorne
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      Re: Pay by tap

      It's a case of Google trying to build up it's potential market.

      Really it doesn't want the cards but the more people it can get to use wallet, the more shops that will put it in

      At the moment, it's catch 22. People don't have it because shops don't have it and shops don't have it because people don't have it.

      The card allows people to get it and use it in places that don't have wallet but take normal cards.

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  2. R 11

    Article is confused

    I've no idea what the article means by only Sprint supporting Google Wallet. Isn't that like saying only Vodafone support your HBSC App? My Nexus 4 is on t-mobile and Google Wallet runs fine. It has nothing to do with the operator.

    That said, I noticed AmEx promoting Pay With ISIS which seems to be a Google Wallet NFC competitor. Their app does, bizarrely, demand operator support. So if you switch to an MVNO you will likely lose your ability to use the app. Thankfully not the case with Google Wallet.

    Then the article suggests it's hard to find places you can use NFC to pay. Most our local supermarkets have pay by bonk terminals. I'm not sure where the author lives, but I've no problem finding places I can use it.

    In fact, the only reason I haven't moved to it as my primary way to pay, is because I don't get cash back on transactions from my credit card that I do get if I use my card directly.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Article is confused

      Well, the number seems to be dropping. 7-Eleven looks like it's beginning to drop support for contactless cards (the devices seem to be starting to disappear from their stores). The big three Big Boxers (Walmart, Target, KMart) have NEVER supported contactless AFAIK. Kroger's support is inconsistent, I don't recall seeing them at Lowe's or Home Depot, and while Best Buy has the capability, its ability to actually USE it appears limited, probably due to the value of the goods they regularly sell. Out of restaurants, I think the only one that does it consistently is McDonalds (Burger King looks like it's rolling out the capability, but it's broken in most of the places I go). Most other restaurants I've seen lack a PIN Pad, precluding contactless use.

      As for Wallet support in the phones, the article seems mostly accurate with regards to Sprint. My GS4 (T-Mobile) didn't support Wallet until I hacked it. I've read AT&T customers have a similar problem. Nexus devices probably work because of the direct Google support that the other NFC devices lack.

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  3. pkr45h

    google wallet card has to be ordered through website, not app

    the new app, while delicious, does not allow you to order the card like this article indicates.

    you have to go to wallet online to do that:

    https://wallet.google.com/manage/w/0/#devices:

    pkr45h

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