Google Wallet is here and it looks awesome | Front Side Bus | Hacker News Reader

Google Wallet is here and it looks awesome | Front Side Bus

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Its a great step for NFC adoption in the US but permit me to brag a little by showing you the NFC-payment system in Hong Kong (Octopus Card) which you can use in:

- all public transport (subway, bus, tram, ferry, etc)

- shops (7-11, drugstore etc)

- as access card to buildings, offices, residence

... and on a run-down boat which charges you HK$1.80 per ride (US$0.23). This is the ultimate Mom and Pop shop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_EtTiLP_EE

Well according to this:

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-chance-credit-card.html

Credit card technology in the US has been stagnant for a while. It looks like Google is trying to solve a worthwhile problem. But I imagine that many users might feel hesitancy, and early adopters will find a lot of places where there Google wallet just doesn't work.

Digital wallets will be a nice change of pace from having to carry different physical cards with information on them that can be easily stolen.

Do anyone* think that the required NFC-enabled credit card terminals will be sold cheaply enough for all the small Mom and Pop businesses in the US to adopt this over the more familiar technology, non-NFC-enabled credit card terminals?

I imagine that this will go the way of Google Health eventually.

*Outside of Google

Mom-and-pop, maybe not, but there are already a ton of NFC-enabled machines out there. Around here (Florida) I can even use the chip in my AmEx to buy a soda.

I basically treat my phone the way I would a windows machine. I download lots of apps without too much concern for their integrity, because I really have no way to track what's going on on it (is there tripwire for android?.) No way am I going to put financial information on it.

The data is encrypted, and besides, with any non cash purchase, almost any bank/creditor will reimburse you any amount that is stolen up to a certain several thousand dollars. And you can bet if /anyone/ compromises it, Google will sick every lawyer they have after them.

And that's why I'm going to use the prepaid Google card option and keep only <$10 or $20 in it at all times. I doubt I would use this for huge transactions, but the main thing: I see lots of stores that have the NFC/Paypass machines, but rarely do they have them on/functional. I received my Visa Paypass card more than a year ago and have yet to use the Paypass functionality.

If they can ultimately bypass the credit card services/fees then I can see the significance of this, otherwise isn't it just adding another step to the credit card purchasing process?

What am I missing?

You're not missing anything.

While services like ours (FaceCash, https://www.facecash.com) bypass the credit card interchange and lower fees as a result, Google is just emulating what everyone already has and adding extra cost to the equation for merchants.

Exactly. As a user I don't see myself getting any benefits out of this but taking the risk or storing my transactions and shopping history at yet another place and leaving it vulnerable for hackers to exploit. What is the value add here?

I'm sorry because this is unrelated, but speaking as an interested and even encouraging consumer, FaceCash has some of the most horrendous branding I have ever seen.

The logo looks childish at best, nightmarish at worst, and the motto is vaguely threatening. Didn't the Joker make someone sign with his face in The Dark Knight? As I recall, it was fatal. The narrator of the videos needs a drink of water - the smacking sounds are incredibly distracting - and the reason the name sounds so terrible is because it's a near-homophone for "Face Gash."

I really want to love this. I do. It sounds really useful. But I can't even look at it without flinching.

But, as my English teacher was fond of saying during critiques, feel free to tell me to go to hell. Perhaps I am not in your target market.

You can't please everyone. A lot of people like the logo. The narrator has also received a lot of compliments.

As a small startup, do you feel threatened by a multinatioal encroaching on your turf?

Not really. Their system is a lot different and not as beneficial for merchants or consumers.

Why do I still want to have POS systems and have to have a "credit card". So instead of the piece of plastic, I have to carry my phone and a piece of plastic?

I'd much prefer to see a comprehensive shift away from the credit card companies and PoS systems entirely.

I agree!

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