

All you need to do is hold your phone up to the PayPass terminal once your total is displayed on the screen. Overall, we found plenty of businesses near our office to try Google Wallet out, but there are still a lot of retailers and other shops that don’t accept PayPass payments, especially as you move closer to the suburbs.Ĭhecking out with your NFC phone and Google Wallet is a cinch. Once you tap on a business you can share it via SMS, report a problem (if it doesn’t accept PayPass), or map it in Google Maps (if you’re looking for directions).

Malibu Diner had a burger and drink icon. For example, the Rx icon is for pharmacies–which is how we found Duane Reade–and Best Buy had a shopping cart icon. The app provides an icon for each location to make it easier to discern the type of business it is without you having to tap on it. Near our downtown New York City office, the app found 23 locations that were within fairly close walking distance, which are displayed on a map. But, if you want to know before you go, you should use PayPass Locator app, which helps you find PayPass locations near you. You’ll know if the store you’re shopping in supports Google Wallet if you see a MasterCard PayPass logo and/or a logo illustration that looks like a person holding a credit card up to a wireless signal. The good news is that Google has licensed the NFC specs for American Express, Discover, and Visa, though the company has not announced a partnership with those credit card companies. The process took just a couple of minutes, but it’s pretty annoying to have to refill your card. Since we don’t have a MasterCard, we added $20 to the prepaid card by filling in the info for our debit card, along with our billing address and phone number. Here’s what it’s like to use Google Wallet in the real world.įor now, Google Wallet integrates directly only with Citi MasterCard cards, but you can also add funds from any debit or credit card to a Google Prepaid Card.
#Google wallet android#
Granted, Google Wallet is only available on a single smartphone at the moment, but as more Android handsets roll out with NFC support, this app could be a big deal.
#Google wallet trial#
I quickly explained to the sales clerk that I was participating in a trial of Google Wallet, a new app that enables users to tap to pay at hundreds of thousands of locations, as well as store loyalty cards and gift cards and redeem deals.

The woman behind the counter looked at me suspiciously and asked “What did you just do?” Well, I guess you could say we both experienced the future of payments. When I got up to the check-out counter, I just whipped out the Samsung Nexus S 4G, held it up to the PayPass reader, and voila, payment accepted. I was at Duane Reade, where I just picked up some hand sanitizer. I’ll never forget the first time I used Google Wallet to pay for something.
