Google is today announcing mobile support for its Google Wallet checkout service, which expanded to include micropayments for web content earlier this month. At that time, Google said it would allow online shoppers to purchase premium digital content, ideally priced under $1.00, which also included a 30-minute money-back refund. Today, Google is expanding its service yet again to an area that makes even more sense: mobile shopping.
It’s fair to say that Google Wallet hasn’t really gained traction in terms of being an NFC-enabled service for making mobile payments at point-of-sale out in the real world, but frankly, no digital wallet provider has won the mobile payments battle yet. That’s why it’s notable that Google Wallet is now expanding its focus in order to become a more comprehensive digital payments platform which could rival incumbents in this space – like PayPal, for example.
With today’s update, Google says that Google Wallet now supports mobile e-commerce websites which have adopted Google Wallet as a checkout option. Indeed, this is an area that’s still a major pain point for many online retailers. All too often, checkout functionality on mobile isn’t optimized for the small screen, or sometimes, the pages themselves are mobile-friendly in terms of their design, but the checkout process still steps users through so many form fields that the process becomes time-consuming and cumbersome for small keyboards and touchscreens. Google says that currently, 97% of mobile shoppers abandon their carts for this very reason.
Now Google Wallet offers an alternative. On sites supporting Google Wallet, users can just click the “Buy with Google Wallet” button, login to their Google account, and complete the order. OK, it’s a few more taps than one (it’s three), but Amazon’s got that patent, right? If anything, the experience Google describes sounds the most like PayPal’s Express Checkout option for merchants.
To use Google’s service on the mobile web, you will first have to set up your account with Google, add your credit and debit cards, enter in your billing and shipping address details, and other payment information. You can also set up a default card for future purchases, so you don’t have to pick which card to use at checkout.
Launch partners for Google Wallet on the mobile web include 1-800-Flowers.com, Rockport.com, and FiveGuys.com (at select locations). Others in the works are Finish Line, MovieTickets.com, Seamless, and SwimOutlet.com. To get started, users can create an account here.
Also worth noting: in late October, several tech bloggers discovered that Google Wallet was teasing the “next version” of the service on its homepage, which included a sign-up form asking if users owned an Android, iPhone, or other device. That same messaging appears today on the Google Wallet homepage. But that being said, it makes sense that as Google shifts Google Wallet’s focus from only being an Android-only service for NFC payments (it works on Sprint, Virgin Mobile, and more recently MetroPCS phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, LG Viper, LG Optimus Elite, and HTC EVO 4G), Google may consider how to better address the needs of iOS users in this space. For example, an obvious next step would be for Google to launch a complementary iOS app for the setup, monitoring and management of users’ Google Wallet account to spur increased mobile adoption outside of the Android ecosystem.
COMMENTARY:
What is NFC?
NFC, or NearField Communication opens the potential to access anything you want with a simple tap of a device. By doing so, it’s the perfect bridge between physical and online world. It’s the easy, dummy-proof engagement tool everyone—marketers and consumers alike—has been yearning for.
NFC is a sister to Radio Frequency Identification or RFID. Both technologies use microchips that transmit information wirelessly. However, RFID is used to transmit a wireless signal over a distance of a few meters like that used in luggage tracking, toll tags, meters, etc., NFC, on the other hand, is used over distances of just a few centimeters (thus the "near field") for end-user applications that have some kind of personal identification attached to it, and that is under the control of the user.
Differences Between NFC and RFID
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Believe it or not, cellular phone manuacturers have been installing NFC-like technologies into cell phones for almost 10 years. Research in Motion was one of the pioneers of NFC. Banks used NFC in credit cards to speed up transactions and reduce card cloning.
The Growing Mobile Payments Market
NFC chips will soon be incorporated right into your smartphone’s circuitry. Juniper Research thinks that about 20 percent or 300 million phones worldwide might have NFC capabilities by 2013. By 2016, analysts believe there will be 550 million NFC-enabled phones, and when NFC phones have become mainstream, the tags that talk to them could one day be as commonplace as a barcode.- 2013 - Sales of NFC-enabled phones will exceed $75 billion. 1 in 5 cellular phones worldwide will use NFC technology.
- 2014 - NFC transactions alone will approach $50 billion. Google predicts that 50% of all cellular phones will use NFC technology.
- 2015 - The value of all mobile money transactions is expected to reach $670 billion. Digital goods will make up nearly 40% of this market. Asia Western Europe and North America will be responsible for 75% of all mobile payment transactions.
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NFC Market Leaders
The NFC market is still in the early stages of development and there is plenty of room for disruption as new technologies designed to take advantage of NFC-enabled handsets come to market. As of this writing there are four principal NFC market leaders: Google Wallet, ISIS, V.me by Visa and Serve for AMEX.
- Google Wallet is the standard NFC platform for Android-enabled handsets. Nexus 5 smartphones are all shipping with NFC microchips that interace with Google Wallet. Google Wallet supports the four major credit/debit cards (MasterCard, Visa, Discovery and AMEX). Google Wallet supports both online and in-store purchases using special scanners (see below) for scanning your NFC-enabled smartphone running Google Wallet.
- ISIS supports NFC-enabled handsets supported by the three major cellular carriers (AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile). ISIS organizes payment cards, offers and loyalty cards in one convenient app on your Isis Ready™ phone. ISIS presently serves selected retailers located only in the State of Utah, but plans to expand into Austin, Texas and expand from there. ISIS presently supports credit/debit cards from AMEX, CapitalOne, Chase Bank, J.P. Morgan and more are being added.
- V.Me by VISA supports most NFC-enabled handsets (cellular carriers not mentioned). V.Me supports multiple credit/debit cards from VISA, MasterCard, Discovery and AMEX. Presently support only online purchases for participating ecommerce retailers displaying the V.Me logo/button.
- Serve by AMEX serves only AMEX customers who pay using The Serve reloadable prepaid card by AMEX and all regular AMEX credit cards. Supports all Apple iPhone®, AndroidTM, and Windows® Phone running the Serve by AMEX mobile app.
If you are interested in learning more about NFC technology, please read the following "NFC & Shopping" whitepaper prepared by Digital Lab for BBD&O.
According to Forrester Research, the pace of innovation in mobile payments is accelerating, and 2011 became the year when Near Field Communication (NFC) reached the hands of millions of consumers, while initiatives in the digital micropayment arena are accelerating. However, Forrester believes mass-market adoption of mobile payments is still years away, new entrants — be they mobile operators, alternative payment providers, or online players — have the potential to disrupt existing payment systems. Consumer product strategy professionals should anticipate different disruptive scenarios and determine the likelihood of them happening. Brands will need to measure the convenience of their new products and services. And, at a tactical level, they shouldn't underestimate the need to educate consumers about new payment methods.
Courtesy of an article dated November 1, 2012 appearing in TechCrunch
The world has changed with its technology and its good to use those wonderful and very advanced technology we have. Thanks for sharing it.
Posted by: Alton Williard | 11/03/2012 at 04:25 AM