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Rumor: Google working with MasterCard and Citigroup on NFC based mobile payments

Categories: Android
By: , IntoMobile
Monday, March 28th, 2011 at 1:21 AM
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The dream of turning your mobile phone into your wallet is soon going to become a reality, and according to The Wall Street Journal Google is working with MasterCard and Citigroup on a near field communication (NFC) based mobile payments system in an effort to be the first to make that fantasy come true. Here’s how it’ll work: you, the typical consumer of overpriced unnecessary consumer electronics and fast food, have a credit card that’s been issued to you by Citigroup. You connect said card to an application that you run on your Android device. Next time you’re in a store that has an NFC equipped cash register made by VeriFone you swipe and pay. Done. Google isn’t planning on collecting a share of each transition, instead they want to store information about the purchases you make and resell it to retailers. Sound creepy? Not really. Privacy advocates are going to go nuts, sure, but do you think the common man really cares that the cafe he’s in knows he also likes to buy DVDs from Best Buy?

This isn’t going to be easy. There’s going to be competition from Isis, the venture formed by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon that seeks to make mobile payments something that’s owned by the operators. They’d rather you conducted your business through them instead of turning into a dumb pipe. What do they have to gain? Customer loyalty, also known in the industry as reducing churn, and access to not only your spending habits, but where and when you spend your money. That data is ripe for the taking and using it to better sell products and services to people. Who will win? It’s way too early to tell, but if we were Google we’d tell businesses of all sizes that we’ll subsidize the purchase of your NFC cash register in exchange for joining our ecosystem.

Tiny bribes go a far way.

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QPAUH7YZAHCOPNG4FSM7HAJ3IM Raghavendra

    These carriers ought to be outlawed.They have been keeping the customers hostage for too long for their own interests. Imagine a simple example as upgrading their network from 3G to 4G. A carrier would delay that as much as possible for him maximise the ROI. But if it were owned by Google or Samsung, they would jump at it because it will help them sell new hardware.
    Another example, These carriers today charge a hell of a lot of money for the subscription and tie you up with long contracts, all in their interests. If it were owned by Google, lets say. They would keep it free so people access their online products.
    Down with these carriers.

  • http://www.techendeavour.com/Mobile_Application_Development Mobile application development

    A rumor!? NFC as a technology is a safe and secured way of transaction. Google and the handset manufacturers should test the NFC in all hacking angles to ensure a secured and safety transaction.