An update to the official Google Wallet website has revealed Google is working on a new version of their mobile payment platform. The headline feature? The new Wallet may be available across multiple platforms, including iOS.
Although no formal announcement has been made regarding the new version of Wallet, the official Wallet site does provide some clues as to what we can expect. By far the most exciting development is the possibility of the previously Android-exclusive platform becoming available on other platforms. This hasn’t been formally confirmed by Google, but a page asking users to select what device they use after registering for a test drive invite has sparked off a wave of speculation.
However, the announcement of a new version of Google Wallet was somewhat tempered by the news that Google were facing legal action over an alleged patent infringement. In a case being heard at the Federal District Court of Delaware, it is alleged that Google have infringed patent U.S. Patent No. 7,298,271 in wallet. Interestingly, the patent relates to the offering of ‘rewards’ (such as those offered by the likes of Mastercard) and mobile payments, which are generally determined by the card issuer rather than Google.
The legal case is the latest in a long line of issues Google have faced with Wallet, including claims that hackers would be able to access card information stored outside of the application via Google Analytics and a particularly messy lawsuit served by Paypal. Paypal accused Google of misappropriating trade secrets by hiring Osama Bedier – the PayPal executive charged with handling ongoing negotiations with Google relating to mobile payments. Google strongly denies the claims.
It’s not just legal and security issues Google has faced with Wallet either; for a company so acquainted with success, Google Wallet hasn’t exactly set the world on fire. Whether through a wariness of making transactions over a smartphone or simply an unwillingness to trade physical credit and debit cards for ‘virtual’ alternatives, the takeup of Wallet in the US has been surprisingly slow.
More worrying for Google, however, will be the perceived lack of a single ‘life-changing’ benefit behind mobile payments beyond mild convenience. There’s no doubt that the ability to make transactions through your phone is useful but many analysts have pointed out that a physical wallet (the negating of which Wallet is meant to enable) carries far more than just a credit card and cash. How far Google chooses to go with Wallet could ultimately determine its success; but how would they go about integrating driving licences and so forth? And how comfortable would people be with storing so much sensitive identifying information in an easily lost smartphone?
That’s a lot of big players are fighting for a chunk of what is presently quite a small market. In addition to the improvements it is making to Wallet, Google will be staking a lot on the power of their reputation and brand to dominate over lesser-known but arguably better-equipped competitors.
That is if Google are even planning on entering into a direct battle with Isis anytime soon; a roundtable discussion at MobileCon 2012, which featured Isis’ chief marketing officer Ryan Hughes, seemed to suggest that this is a time for ‘experimentation’ rather than rampant competition. That seems like the most beneficial approach for all involved at the moment, including consumers, but one wonders how long this uneasy truce will last before someone tries to claim a major stake of the expanding market.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how the new version of Google Wallet goes down in the US and if the new changes will encourage more users to take up mobile payments over physical cash and cards.
This guest post was supplied by Fluid Creativity, a Manchester-based digital company offering web design, development and online marketing services.
