Pay with your Phone: No Wallet Needed (NFC)

Look for this to be breaking news on Thursday May 26^th.

According to Bloomberg, Google along with Sprint Nextel Corp will be bringing a phone based payment system to New York City (woot!), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC.  The new payment method is set to be revealed on May 26^th. That’s great news….if you have a phone capable of it.

In order to use the new service you will need a phone that has Near Field Communications (NFC).  This radio technology is similar to what you may already have in “tap and go” credit cards-- sometimes referred to as BLINK. Look on the back of your credit card for the Blink Logo. NFC payment systems have been used in Japan safely for many years.

Not all phones have it – not the Evo, not the iPhone, not your Jitterbug. But the new Google Nexus S has NFC – and it’s available on Sprint.  No news yet if this is a Sprint Exclusive. My guess is that Google is partnering with Sprint first –as Sprint has at least one current phone with NFC, and more to come this summer that boast this new feature. Expect this to spread to the other mobile networks by the holiday season.

Google is not the only player in NFC payment systems. AT&T, the big V, and T Mobile are working with ISIS. Let’s see who cracks the US market first.

Feedback

Would you replace your wallet with your phone? Security concerns?