With the recent success of the Apple Pay mobile payment system (a service launched in Q4 2014), Google Wallet seems to have mustered up new courage to make a comeback in the market as another dominant mobile payment system among heavy competitors.
In an unprecedented move, Google Inc. has decided to push Google Wallet as a pre-installed service in most mobile phones in the US running on the Android OS. According to reports, Google Inc. has already entered into an agreement with three of the major mobile phone data carriers in the US, namely AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. The agreement allows Google Wallet to come as a pre-installed service in all Android phones being released by these three companies.
Google’s mobile payment service, Google Wallet, was launched in 2011 with the aim to revolutionize mobile payment systems primarily in the United States and, consequently, all over the world. However, the service failed to garner as much demand for itself as Google Inc. had initially projected, largely due to resistance on part of users to adopt the new payment service into their daily lives.
However, adoptability has been great for the Apple Pay mobile payment system, which has generated a handsome demand for itself in the US and the UK. According to statistics, Apple’s mobile payment system has exceeded expectations, as it is now being supported by more than 2000 banks and credit card providing services in the US. Tim Cook, Apple CEO, has also highlighted the success of Apple Pay, stating that out of every three dollars spent in the US in the past couple of months, two of them have passed through Apple Pay mobile payment system.
And the reason behind Apple Pay’s success is that the service comes pre-installed with the new iPhones, utilizing the Touch ID technology installed in them to authorize payments and ensure that the payment service is secure. Apple Pay also has a dedicated slot on the A8 chip that powers the iPhones, ensuring a fully encrypted environment for the service.
Google Wallet, on the other hand, entered the market as an Android mobile app, prone to being hacked or being unstable. This fact was enough to discourage users from shifting to the new mobile payment system, as it was not only inconvenient to do so, but it was also an unsecure way to pay due to its average and lackluster security system.
However, now Google Wallet would come as a pre-installed service on all Android phones being sold by the top three mobile carriers operating within the US. The service is also expected to utilize the last unoccupied slot on the SIM card for its operation, rejecting any collaboration with the Android OS in order to provide a highly secure mobile payments environment similar to that being provided by Apple Pay.
Google may even beat out Apple Pay in the long run, as its reach would be far greater than that of the Apple Pay mobile payment system. Coming pre-installed in carrier SIM cards, Google Wallet is sure to enjoy a huge market after its release, which is expected to happen anytime this year.
