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Google to Test Mobile Payment System in NYC, San Francisco

by Caleb Johnson on March 15, 2011 at 04:07 PM

nexus sGoogle has purchased thousands of VeriFone's mobile payment registers, intending to install and test the system in stores in New York and San Francisco, according to Bloomberg. With this system, customers could pay for products with their Nexus S (or other smartphone equipped with a near-field communication chips) rather than using cash or physical credit and debit cards in stores. The anonymous Google source told Bloomberg the mobile payment system should be up and running within four months.

Last year, we reported that AT&T and Verizon would test a mobile payment system, but the technology still hasn't really taken off. If this latest report is true, Google's entrance into the mobile payment arena should be a kick in the butt to other companies that hope to be on the forefront of changing the way we buy stuff. In the end, though, they'll still need customers who are willing to trust in a new technology that has potential security risks. New York and San Francisco are good places to start, but the real test would be expanding beyond those markets.

Tags: banking, cellphones, google, MobilePayment, MobilePayments, NearFieldCommunication, nfc, top

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