Google Wallet functionality expanding to counter Apple's Passbook

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014


How would Apple profit from mobile payments via NFC or otherwise? What incentive is there for them to implement it in the iPhone?

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 87
    AppleInsiderAppleInsider Posts: 65,477administrator
    Google has revealed plans to enhance its Wallet service with location-aware store cards, boarding passes and event tickets, much like the Passbook feature found in Apple's forthcoming iOS 6 iPhone update.

    New features planned for the Google Wallet software found in the Android mobile operating system were revealed in a developer video posted to YouTube. As noted by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, Google plans to expand its Wallet functionality beyond just payment cards.

    "One of the things we're trying to do is make it easy for airlines, transit providers, and other types of issuers of credentials to make it super simple for them to get their credentials stored in the Wallet," Dua said. "That's the goal. We want you to be able to leave your leather wallet at home and carry your phone and transact with that as your primary transaction device."

    Google first launched its near-field communication payment service last May, and since then a number of Android-based handsets and tablets have hit the market with NFC chips for mobile contactless transactions.

    There have been rumors for years that Apple has shown interest in including an NFC chip in the iPhone. However, this week it was said that Apple will not include an NFC chip in its next-generation iPhone, quashing speculation that the company could offer NFC e-wallet functionality with a new iPhone and Passbook in iOS 6.



    Passbook has been highlighted by Apple as a "key feature" in iOS 6, set to debut this fall. The company has described the new native iOS software as "your boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards, and more now all in one place."

    While Google Wallet relies on NFC for mobile payments, Apple's Passbook is driven by location awareness, and will quickly provide users with store cards and other applicable items for nearby businesses. Google's developer video reveals the company now plans to add similar location-aware features to its Wallet service, allowing it to compete more directly with Passbook.
  • Reply 2 of 87
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,822member
    Gosh, what a shock!

    What would Android users do without Apple for their R & D?
  • Reply 3 of 87
    mkart4mkart4 Posts: 18member


    I disappoint when I heard the next iPhone would not include NFC. I have this vision of a future where I can wave my phone at things to make purchases or identify myself but adoption of this technology has been slow going.  It won't be until Apple gets fully behind NFC that it will take off IMO.

  • Reply 4 of 87
    bryanlbryanl Posts: 67member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post



    Gosh, what a shock!

    What would Android users do without Apple for their R & D?


    You say this as if Google doesn't already have Wallet. Expanding to compete is not the same thing as copying.

  • Reply 5 of 87
    genovellegenovelle Posts: 1,481member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bryanl View Post


    You say this as if Google doesn't already have Wallet. Expanding to compete is not the same thing as copying.



     

    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

    What Apple is doing was very different from the wallet google offered because it was linked to payments only.  Google IS copying Apple's program to compete with them just adding it to what they already call a Wallet so it doesn't' seem like it.


    #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }

     
  • Reply 6 of 87
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    mkart4 wrote: »
    I disappoint when I heard the next iPhone would not include NFC. I have this vision of a future where I can wave my phone at things to make purchases or identify myself but adoption of this technology has been slow going.  It won't be until Apple gets fully behind NFC that it will take off IMO.

    It's more complex than that. I think it was the first Nexus that shipped with NFC HW but no SW or APIs. What's the point of that? With Apple you won't get HW unless there are SW to support it, and if they want it to be available for devs they will include APIs.

    But that isn't all that is needed. With a payment system you need a services infrastructure to make it functional. This means buying companies and/or getting partners so you can have support outside your device. Using your iPhone for secure payments is coming! Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon... and for the rest of your life.
  • Reply 7 of 87
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mkart4 View Post


    I disappoint when I heard the next iPhone would not include NFC. I have this vision of a future where I can wave my phone at things to make purchases or identify myself but adoption of this technology has been slow going.  It won't be until Apple gets fully behind NFC that it will take off IMO.



    more like unlock phone, wave, enter pin


     


    cool for geeks because it involves tech but in the end passbook is a lot better for us normal folk

  • Reply 8 of 87
    icoco3icoco3 Posts: 1,474member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bryanl View Post


    You say this as if Google doesn't already have Wallet. Expanding to compete is not the same thing as copying.



     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Google has revealed plans to enhance its Wallet service with location-aware store cards, boarding passes and event tickets, much like the Passbook feature found in Apple's forthcoming iOS 6 iPhone update.

     


     


    I guess "much like" and copy mean different things then??  Remember, it is the Android crowd that says Apple is more or less playing catch up to Android so when it is the other way around, there are excuses....

  • Reply 9 of 87

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post





    It's more complex than that. I think it was the first Nexus that shipped with NFC HW but no SW or APIs. What's the point of that? 


     


    The first couple rounds of Nexus phones were primarily targeted at developers so it makes sense to add the hardware you want developers working on software support for.  Just had this realization: I guess the Google Nexus isn't a developer device anymore since carriers are selling it.

  • Reply 10 of 87
    quadra 610quadra 610 Posts: 6,757member


    "Google" and "Wallet" in the same sentence sounds a little . . . ominous. 

  • Reply 11 of 87
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Gosh, what a shock!
    What would Android users do without Apple for their R & D?

    This is not anything new. It's been available overseas for years now. Expanding its functionality isn't a far stretch of imagination.
  • Reply 12 of 87
    allenbfallenbf Posts: 993member


    I'm beginning to hate Google more and more.  75% is because of 'spying' on me, 25% because of things like this.  Unfortunately, I'm sort of "stuck" with gmail.  But I use it on my iPhone mail app, and on my iMac mail client, so at least I don't have to see the pesky ads.  I've also turned on privacy in Safari and do my best to avoid Google as a search engine.


     


    On topic, though, is anyone surprised, really?  Apple has been doing Google/Android's R & D since about 2007...

  • Reply 13 of 87
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    runner7775 wrote: »
    The first couple rounds of Nexus phones were primarily targeted at developers so it makes sense to add the hardware you want developers working on software support for.  Just had this realization: I guess the Google Nexus isn't a developer device anymore since carriers are selling it.

    They still are. That first business model didn't work out quite well. Many developers will also choose whatever is the most popular phone at the time.
  • Reply 14 of 87
    mkart4mkart4 Posts: 18member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post



    But that isn't all that is needed. With a payment system you need a services infrastructure to make it functional. This means buying companies and/or getting partners so you can have support outside your device. Using your iPhone for secure payments is coming! Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon... and for the rest of your life.


     


    Could not agree more about infrastructure but I don't think we're that far behind.  I work in Philly, not Tokyo obviously but as major American city's go I think it's fairly tech forward and I see infrastructure for automated payment popping up all the time.  I use my RFID transit card to get into the city, I'll grab a coffee and pay with my starbucks app, I'll pay for lunch with my LevelUp app(another QR code based system) and those credit card "blink" kiosks at grocery and convenient stores are becoming ubiquitous enough.  


     


    We just need a force as inspiring and visionary as Apple to bring this payment world together.  No small feat for sure but I believe in the power of the Apple brand and the influence it can yield.

  • Reply 15 of 87
    mkart4mkart4 Posts: 18member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post


    more like unlock phone, wave, enter pin


     


    cool for geeks because it involves tech but in the end passbook is a lot better for us normal folk



    But...combine this with the rumors of the biometric fingerprint reader and this advances to: put finger on home button, wave....profit

  • Reply 16 of 87
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



     Dua said. "That's the goal. We want you to be able to leave your leather wallet at home and carry your phone and transact with that as your primary transaction device."


     


    The main reason I carry a leather wallet is because it contains my drivers license.

  • Reply 17 of 87


    Apple came roaring back to life by patiently waiting and then creating a simple, elegant solution (the iPod) that crushed a herd of overly-complicated, clunky, frustrating mp3 players.


     


    I'm willing to wait for the herd of overly-complicated, clunky, frustrating mobile payment systems to gather ... let Apple learn, better-design, and then deliver a unified, simple NFC/wallet system and crush once again.

  • Reply 18 of 87
    enjournienjourni Posts: 254member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by bryanl View Post


    You say this as if Google doesn't already have Wallet. Expanding to compete is not the same thing as copying.



     


    By definition if I'm your competitor, then I must have released similar product(s). Competition wouldn't exist if companies didn't copy each other.


     


    All the original poster is saying is that many companies wait for Apple to act before doing it themselves.

  • Reply 19 of 87

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by mkart4 View Post


    But...combine this with the rumors of the biometric fingerprint reader and this advances to: put finger on home button, wave....profit



     


    You beat me to it! That is precisely how it will be implemented, and it is probably the most secure along with most simple way to do it. It may take Apple longer to implement technologies like this, but when they do they get it right!

  • Reply 20 of 87
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Quadra 610 View Post


    "Google" and "Wallet" in the same sentence sounds a little . . . ominous. 



     


    Yes. We've already seen how they act when they just have access to your browsing history.


     


    Imagine what'll they'll be willing to do to with access to your financial and spending history...

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