Description: Plenty of companies would love to get their hands on our wallets. But Google wants to go one step further: it wants to be our wallets.
Source: NYT.com.
Date: Sept 21, 2011
Its new phone software, called Google Wallet, is intended to replace the credit cards in our actual wallets.
It does sound pretty spectacular, doesn’t it? No fishing plastic cards out of wallets, no paper slips, no signatures. Everything is handled securely, instantly, conveniently, with one tap of your phone at the register.
Europeans and Asians already routinely pay for things that way. Why can’t we have that in America?
Questions for discussion:
- Do you think this new technology will succeed in being adopted on a wide scale? Why? Or Why Not?
- If you were Google what strategy could you employ to keep competitors and substitutes out of this market?
Austen Murray
This is a very interesting idea, any opportunity that Americans can have that will make their lives more efficient, they will take. This idea is perfect for that. This new technology has a huge potential to be adopted on a wide scale, because everyone has a wallet and a mass majority of people in North America have a cellphone, so this potential business for Google can apply to many people. The only way people will change their ways and go with cellphone transactions at the tills are if Google can promise high security with these transactions. If consumers are going to give their personal information to consumer then it better not get in criminals hands or else they could potentially pay huge amounts. If security is promised and it succeeds then for sure this will go wide scale. The only real strategy that Google could take in order to keep competitors out is if they patent this idea and/or keep the services that they will obviously charge the lowest in the whole market. This is an excellent idea that Google has presented, but they must not jump to the gun to quickly in order to acquire this potential market. They must do it right the first time, because if they fail their customers the backfire could be enormous.
Brad Christopoulos
I personally think this is a great idea and will catch on soon in North America. If this has already been used in Europe, Google knows that there is the market for this type of technology. Some individuals will most likely claim that this is not a safe way to purchase things, and that using their plastic credit card will be more reliable and be much safer. The safety issue is not apparent because even with your normal day to day plastic credit card, there is always a chance that your card number and pin can be stolen and sold for a couple dollars. Google will implement a major safe guard with the Google wallet, and before we know it we will all be using it.
With only the Nexus S android phone being able to use this feature, more and more phone companies will enable their smart phones with the NFC chip to allow themselves entry into this market. Their must be some sort of a profit that will be made or Google wouldn’t have entered/ designed this business. As a constant user of credit cards I believe this is a reengeneered designed of the pay pass, which allows users to just tap and go. This will make life much more convenient and will possibly open the doors to not having to carry a wallet.
Cayley Peters
Something scares me about Google having my Credit Card, purchasing history, e-mail account and internet search history. With all this information Google could have my interests pegged down to my favourite type of ice cream. They already personalize their ads to target specific consumers. After having purchase histories they would know how to find everyone’s spending weak spots. Scary in my opinion.
Jenny Tashiro
The use of google wallet is more convenient and easier to carry around, but the fact that all your personal information and credit card numbers are now being saved on your phone doesn’t seem very safe to me. Unfortunately, I do think that this new technology will be adopted on a wider scale because people want fast, compact, and convenient. I think with the newer generations coming up, they don’t worry as much about identity theft and privacy issues, they are more concerned about keeping up with whats new and making sure the keep up to date.
I’m not a fan of concept of google wallet because it is not useful and if everything is left up to electronics, its easier for something to go wrong. In the article it states that if your phone dies then you cannot make any purchases. I think same goes, if you would travel the country and your phone doesn’t have a connection and your provider isn’t in the area, it probably wouldn’t work in your favour. Plus it takes a while for it to start up. Yes, most major stores will install this new technology, but smaller businesses might still take a while to get up to date and in doing so, now people will still have to carry around a credit card along with google wallet just in case they need to make a purchase in a place that doesn’t have the pay pass.By the time it is fully developed something else that is more advanced will come out and everyone will want to move along with that new technology.
Breanne Marton
Google wallet will make for a much greater ease for individuals to go shopping. I believe this technology will make consumers spend more and with less thought because the ease of spending money will be like never before. I think that this will cause a wide spread of usage as consumers will likely embrace this new technology simply because of the convenience of it. As such, this convenience will come for the customer by allowing them to use their phone rather than to dig through their wallet for their cards on a constant basis. I also believe that this fact alone will outweigh the “cost” of having the technology in that regardless of security issues consumers will embrace this new technology. In my opinion, the security measures that Google has placed with the phone will encourage people enough to use this technology. And as such, I believe that the market will widely embrace this new technology as well. The businesses that run this technology may also see an increase in their sales as consumers will now likely spend more than what they would have previously simply due to the ease of the process. I do believe, however, that there will be some resistance to this technology by some individuals, although I also believe that those that embrace it will far outnumber those that are against it.
Sam Chen
I heard this idea several years ago with different name in different place. I think this is very convenient for cell phone users if they are used to high technic product (buying online, online bank…etc.). However, not most cell phone users can accept this idea or this process. There are two kinds of people who are not willing to accept this idea, one kind of person they might use the cell phone only for calling and answering and never use or not realize the rest of cell phone function. In this case most cell phone users are senior people they are refusing to use or learn high technic products (computer, cell phone….etc.) because it is too hard to lean and use in their generation and age. Second kind of people is in all generation. They are the people who worry about the security of using high technic products to transfer money of buy good. In the 21st century there are a lot of cases people’s money/information is stolen through high technic products. Hence, their worry is reasonable. Somehow, this new strategy will be very useful and popular in young generation just because young generations are easier to accept new stuff/technic/process. Moreover, peer to peer pressure is one of the main reasons too in young kind. For example, everyone is using this new technic only except one person than this person might get laugh by other. Furthermore, this new technic/process will be widespread in one day of the future.
Kelsey Heather
Google Wallet seems like a good innovation that has a lot of potential to grow and expand throughout the entire world. Society is always looking for fast and convenient ways to accomplish their day-to-day tasks, and Google Wallet could be one way to make that happen.
I think security is a huge factor surrounding this new technology, and if Google can promise a completely secure and protected application for consumers than I believe Google Wallet will be up and running all over the world in no time. Since credit card fraud and identity theft is already a huge problem in todays society, a new way of completing credit card transactions and safe-guarding your money, with slim to no chance of your information being stolen, is a great selling point for consumers.
Although Google Wallet sounds like a huge development, I believe that there is still a lot of work to be done before it can acquire a huge market. As Google develops this product and makes it compatible with more phones and credit cards, it will begin to gain popularity and its market will expand. Google Wallet has great potential, and if it continues to provide safe and convenient ways to spend money, I believe it will continue grow and expand and the majority of us will be using it at some point in the near future.
Yanmei Sun
It will be an awesome innovation and will be easier for people to go shopping.I would say this new technology will succeed in being adopted on a wide scale. Why? First,it combines credit card, cash, and cellphone into one product which makes people carry more convenient. Second,It’s really simple for people to learn how to use and how to add money on it.Third. it seems like more safety than Paypal or other credit cards.The phone’s N.F.C. chip is completely deactivated when the screen is off and which is to prevent sneaky evildoers from “skimming” (reading) your credit card information.In order to prevent people from buying stuff with their phone if it’s lost or stolen,the pass code requirement is intended since they won’t know the code. (And if they guess wrong five times in a row, the whole Wallet becomes unusable. You have to contact Google and explain yourself.)
If i were Google, I would make the new phone software, Google Wallet, free of charge.Through the “free charge” to open its market. Also, I think corporate with other smartphone companies such as Apple and Nokia. All in all, I believe there will be a broad prospect for Google Wallet.
Kelsey K
This seems like it could be an interesting turn in “convenient banking.” -Which seems to be the new norm in society. However, I am certainly a little bit sceptical of this Google Wallet idea. Although, I am even a little bit sceptical of the pay pass systems. I believe that the more convenient our banking systems become, the less secure our information and money becomes. It seems as though more and more people are having problems with security fraud and stolen identities- I know I have. It also seems as though it is becoming way easier to use other people’s credit cards, or gather information of other peoples banking securities. Who knows, maybe this system of Google Wallet is a safer option than that of PayPal or other convenient systems, however it is such a new technology, I think many people may also be sceptical of it.
brett pudwell
I found this article very interesting and am a believer that this technology and many other technologies like it will be widely adopted in the future. We live in an age of convenience and the vast majority of the next generation is spoiled and beginning to not only expect convenience but demand it. It is applications like this from google that will help to continue to set google apart from its competitors and help them flourish in the years to come. The digital cloud is upon us and if companies choose to ignore the future they will be left behind. As the article said, many countries in asia are already implementing technologies such as this and it is working very well. Google needs to attempt to sign exclusivity contracts with as many businesses and credit card companies as possible to make competing with them very difficult. I believe this is the future of banking and google is pioneering this technology in the North American market. Google should continue developing this technology and forging ahead, no matter how long and painstaking the process proves to be. I am looking forward to the day when it is only necessary for me to carry a phone that takes care of all me needs for shopping, banking, and communication. This technology has existed for a while and I am glad someone is making it available in all parts of the world.
Pulkit Arora
Google Wallet is a cool concept that will start out slow in the market on a wide scale but it will work it’s way up as the product becomes more available. The idea of having no credit cards and paper trails is something that the young generation would find fascinating and in turn use Google Wallet. As for the older generation, they will find it hard to use this application on their phone because they have only used a cell phone for it’s sole purpose of dialing and receiving calls. A lot of people don’t use their phones to it’s full potential and they would find it hard to adapt to this change. But once this product is more readily available and more and more people start using it, the young generation would teach their parents and grandparents to adapt to this simpler process.
Google can stay ahead of the competition by expanding their “Wallet” with many other banks as quickly as possible before other competitors enter the market force. Once Google has dominated the banks with their products, it will be hard for other competitors to enter the market and compete. This new idea by Google could change how the world interacts with each other on a daily basis.
Kristin Schneider
I truly believe that Google Wallet will succeed, just for the reason that it has more potential reasons to succeed then not to. One reason is that it allows you to pay with any bank, any card, store and gift card, or even their own Google Prepaid card. This gives users the convenience of having the option of any financial institution. The second reason is that Google Wallet is secure. You have to enter a pin, and you can also lock your phone. If the pin is entered wrong five times, your accounts are shut down. These steps are almost more safe then your real wallet. Another plus, is if you don’t want to buy the phone, they are coming out with a sticker that you simply place on your phone to use when you swipe. Most young users are already using their smart phones for everything, and would jump on the idea of simply swiping your phone to make a payment. If you carry your phone around with you everywhere, how more convenient could it get? Instead of remembering which rewards cards you have, or which phone number you signed up for, simply swipe your phone and Google Offers goes into your Google Wallet and finds you what you are looking for. The possibilities are endless and I know that I will be looking into this in the future.
Jillian K
1) According to the article ‘No Cards, No Cash, Just a Phone’, what is the name of the software chip required to be present in your phone in order to utilize Google Wallet?
a) MBT – Mobile Payment Technology
b) APS – Android Payment System
c) NFC – Near Field Communication
d) VPS – Virtual Payment System\
answer: c
2) According to the article ‘No Cards, No Cash, Just a Phone’, where is Google Wallet technology already being used routinely?
a) South America
b) Asia
c) Europe
d) both A and C
e) both B and C
answer: e
Ivette
1)In reference to the Wiley IS Weekly Update article “No cards, No cash. Just a phone.”, one of the disadvantages of using your phone as a wallet is that:
a.It cannot be used as a wallet once the battery is dead
b.It is not fair to those who can’t afford a phone
c.It is not environmentally friendly
d.Other people can buy stuff in your name if your phone is stolen
Answer: a
2)In reference to the Wiley IS Weekly Update article “No cards, No cash. Just a phone.”, in order to prevent evildoers from reading your credit card information:
a.The phone auto-blocks itself
b.The phone’s N.F.C chip is completely deactivated when the screen is off
c.A five code password is required
d.There is no way to prevent evildoers from accessing the information in the phone
Answer: b
Megan H
While the idea of a virtual wallet that contains all my debit and credit cards is innovative and though provoking, it just seems like it would open up a whole new world of privacy issues. As someone who currently works in retail, we already have to deal with stolen credit cards, quick changing (when someone gives you a $20 bill, attempts to confused you and then says they gave you $100), counterfeit money and just plain crazy customers it would add a whole new world of problems to watch out for. I even hate the idea of the pay pass that just requires you to tap your card to pay. While the article states that they have measures in place to prevent skimming, it seems that every time a preventive measure is taken to protect privacy, someone has also found a way around it to maliciously steal money. While companies continue to invest millions and millions of dollars on security, somewhere someone is sitting in their basement spending their spare time figuring out a way to crack that security to steal. It seems to me we continually open up new ways of becoming vulnerable to cybercrime and I personally cannot find the benefit of opening up myself in yet another way.
Mobile Prices Pakistan
Fantastic beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a blog web site?
The account helped me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear
concept