Google aimed to go big-time in mobile payments when the company introduced Nexus S with the Near-Field Communication chip. Mobile Advertising is Google's safe bet and the company wishes to boost it via Mobile Payments. The Wall Street Journal reported that Google has joined hands with MasterCard and Citigroup for setting up a mobile payment system to turn Android smartphones into e-Wallets, according to people familiar with the matter. However, in this deal Google won't be getting any monetary cut from both partners whenever Google's phone is being used.
Google, MasterCard and Citigroup have come together for the mobile payment system that also involves credit-card reader maker - VeriFone Systems. So the deal is like this - Google's NFC chip based smartphones would be usable for Citigroup issued debit/credit cards. VeriFone will introduce Contact-less readers that will let the Citigroup card holders to make purchases by waving or tapping their Android smartphones in front of those readers.
The special contact-less credit/debit card readers will incorporate near-field communication technology - a short range wireless technology and will let the client device (Android Smartphones) behave like a contact-less electronic card. Though it is a contact-less system of mobile payment, it's more sophisticated and far more difficult for hackers to crack the code for stealing user's account information as the NFC technology isn't that easily vulnerable. More details are expected to be out in a couple of weeks.
Apart from Google, Apple and BlackBerry too are expected to join the NFC-based mobile payment bandwagon. The next Apple iPhone 5 is heavily anticipated to carry the NFC chip. While the upcoming RIM's touch handsets will majorly feature NFC chip as reported in the leaked roadmap for this year.
Next major thing in mobile commerce is the contact-less mobile payment based on NFC technology.
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