Google will formally announce its plan to turn Android phones into digital wallets today with a scheme to harness newer handsets' Near Field Communications smarts, a sneakily sourced memo has confirmed.
NFC technology was introduced to the Android platform with the arrival of the 2.3 version of Google’s operating system and allows users to pay for low-ticket items by swiping their phone over a reader.
Reports that the search giant is this week planning to launch a scheme to bring the tech from the theoretical realm into the real world surfaced yesterday in the Wall Street Journal.
The memo appears to remove any doubt about the project. According to ThisisMyNext, which nabbed the memo from US retailer The Container Store, the project will be dubbed Google Wallet and will be detailed at a press call in New York today.
Google is expected to start the scheme on September 1st, initially in New York only. A number of high-profile retail and restaurant chain partners are rumoured to have been enlisted, including Subway, Macy’s and McDonalds.
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