Google is preparing to deploy a beta mobile-payment service at select stores in New York and San Francisco.
The service will allow shoppers to use their NFC (near-field-communication) enabled smartphones to “ring up” purchases.
As expected, the Mountain View-based company has reportedly agreed to pay for the installation of the next-gen terminals, which are designed and manufactured by VeriFone Systems.
As Bloomberg notes, the beta mobile-payment project would place Google in a “growing field” of companies testing NFC, which permits consumers to pay for products and services by simply tapping a device against a register at checkout.
“The Google service may combine a consumer’s financial account information, gift-card balances, store loyalty cards and coupon subscriptions on a single NFC chip on a phone,” explained Bloomberg’s Olga Kharif.
“[Still], Google’s mobile-payment service would face competition from EBay Inc.’s PayPal and ISIS, a joint effort of several mobile companies. The ISIS system, backed by AT&T and Verizon Wireless, will rely on Discover Financial Services to handle the payments.”
