From Cash to Cards to Phones

Over the years, the use of physical cash has declined with the increased use of credit and debit cards.  There are many people who do not even carry cash on them at all simply because they feel that it is too bulky and inconvenient.  The ease and convenience that a debit or credit card brings to a consumer’s shopping experience has grown to be a more appealing way of paying for various items.  Now, though, Google Inc. has attempted to make even this form of payment a thing of the past move on to the next big thing: to complete payments from a smartphone.

Basically, Google has come up with a way to make all of your debit, credit and even brand loyalty cards on your smartphone, which makes making electronic payments even easier.  Instead of fumbling through your wallet to find these various cards, you can simply pull out one card, the Google Wallet Card, and complete any transaction with ease.  The Google Wallet Card that is swiped will simply access the chosen card on the account and access any loyalty or rewards cards attached to the store.  This technology can be used anywhere that debit and credit cards are accepted, which means that it can be used anywhere nowadays.

By releasing such an application and choice to consumers, Google will be taking the lead against its competitors in the market, such as Square and PayPal.  This is especially due to the fact that the Google Wallet App will be available in both the iOS, or Apple, and Windows phone which makes it available to more consumers across both softwares.  With this newer feature and easier payment system, it is believed that Google will be able to attract far more customers than either competitor even if they are able to catch up with the technology in the near future.

Although it is not yet confirmed, it has been rumored that the Google Wallet card service may even surpass PayPal and come out with an card service that is integrated with the app and have secure payment service on the app directly.  This may be on the list of further improvements that Google has decided to make on the service.

Although the concept of the Google Wallet is very appealing and innovative, it is still under speculation by the public.  Personally, as someone who still uses cash from time to time, I am not so sure that I will be able to easily adjust to something like the Google Wallet.  The idea of having access to all of my finances in one place would, for me, be too risky.

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http://www.tapscape.com/physical-google-wallet-card-may-be-coming-soon/

9 thoughts on “From Cash to Cards to Phones

  1. Although I don’t quite understand how exactly Google is going to use smartphone to complete a transation, but I believe that something like this is going to happen in the future. This is a process of banking improvment. People used to use cash, then debit card, then credit card, Google Wallet Card, and final Google Wallet App. Technology is simplifying our life in every corner of our life. The new design of transation product not only benefits the user of the App with convenience, but also benefits the whole society as the cost of transation will decrease dramatically and the incease speed of transation, which will help push the whole economy in the fulture.

  2. I agree with the comment above of how I am unsure how Google will be able to do this but I am not surprised in the least that this technology is surfacing. This started with PayPal and virtual banking. I can even pay some of my bills via a PNC App on my iPhone. I still hold concerns about this technology because I am the type of person that likes to actually hold cash in my hand. There is always the worry in my mind of a system crash or something of that nature but there is no doubt in my mind that this is the wave of the future.

  3. Google is trying to make banking and making payments easier. I think it is a cool idea to be able to make payments straight from your phone. I think that in following years everyone will be using there smart phones to pay for things. A downside that I see in this is that if someone where to loose there phone, all there credit card information would be available for someone to use. If this technology could be perfected then it would be a great idea but until then I also feel that it can be risky to use your smart phone to make payments.

  4. I think that this is a great idea, but with one concern, which is having all of my personal data and money in one account. I hate having multiple cards in my wallet, so much as I end up pulling most of them out, and never putting them back in and when I really need it, it’s not there. The concept is great, but if the account is hacked, then every account I have is a sitting duck. Or the coincidence that the system crashes and I have nothing is as great of a concern. Seems a little risky for me to go all in, but its a neat concept.

  5. I agree with all of the comments above about the security issue. It would be too risky for most people so there is a tradeoff between risk and efficiency. Yes the transactions would be must faster (like the use of debit cards or credit cards). Another issue that I would raise is that though debit and credit cards are common, they are not used by most of the population. There is still a large number of the population who are unbanked that do not have access to this. So how would Google plan to reach this population or are they even considering them at all? Also, though cell phone companies are ‘forcing’ their customers to get data plan, most people are still using their phone without the internet. It might not be as convenient as Google thought. Also, is Google going to charge for this service because I think Square does (not sure about PayPal)?

  6. I think this is a smart move on Google. I have friends who’ve opened their own businesses and have an app on their phones that accept credit cards. Even cab drivers in Chicago are using such an app as well. I can’t tell you how many times I go to a store and forget my membership card. With this day in age, everyone is using technology instead of doing the old fashioned way. Obviously, security is an issue. But I feel as our technology has grown, so has our security. While it would need access to the internet, I feel people are willing to spend money on the ease of accessibility and efficiency.

  7. This article is very interesting to me. It brings up a great point of how technology is going to be a great factor in all of our futures; more than ever before. Everyone depends on it greatly, and pretty soon, I believe that you will be able to pretty much do virtually anything through your smart phone. There are already apps with this technology (such as the starbucks card app) along with others where you are able to virtually charge things. The thing that really worries me about this is theft/security. With phones being something that is easy to lose, I think it would be very risky to have all of your credit cards on your phone. I am interested in seeing how they handle the fraud aspect of the situation. Sounds like a great idea, though.

  8. This is an interesting article because a group in my marketing class did a presentation on Google Wallet. I think it seems like a good idea in theory but in reality not so much so. The biggest problem is obviously security. It seems convenient to just swipe ur phone or google wallet card past a machine and be able to pay for things. However, it scares me to think that all my cards and card information is contained in one place. I realize this is a little absurd considering that if I carry a wallet, all my cards are still contained in one place. Still, we all know that there are people out there that can hack pretty much any electronic device. We know about the type of devices that can read ur information when u swipe your card through an atm or gas station. But even people do steal that card information, its only one card. If people hack ur google card then they have all your cards. Also, another concern for me would be convenience. It seems convenient to have all cards in one place but I see it differently. For example, if I plan on shopping at a certain store and want to use a store card, I have to make sure that card is my default card. Then if I go next door and buy something on a different card, I have to go into my phone and change cards and then use the google card. It seems like to much trouble if Im someone who uses a lot of different cards in different places.

  9. The Google Wallet is a game changing application that I believe many people will slowly begin relying on. In high school I payed for everything in cash, but by the time I got to college it became a hassle to estimate how much money I would need to go out with. Google Wallet simplifies the process further by giving users the opportunity to eliminate not only cash, but plastic as well. I think this is good for society because it allows us to go through every transaction faster and easier, which is what people in America want. If I can eliminate the hassle of carrying a wallet, I’m all for it! And if we trust store websites with our credit card information, why not trust Google too?

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