iPhone and BlackBerry users beware.
Google recently announced a plan to merge with Citigroup and MasterCard to set up a new payment method through the Android smartphone that would allow Android users to wave their phone in front of a reader to make a payment instead of using the traditional card, check or cash methods, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The super company’s announcement left one student excited yet skeptical at just how safe it could be to pay directly from your phone.
“I think it’s a good concept but it will probably pose a lot of questions about security and identity theft,” said Kandyce Jackson, print journalism major and Android user.
Google’s plan to reveal an Android payment method comes in the midst of recent changes in the cell phone market (AT&T to buy T-Mobile, wow!), and could possibly be a feature to draw in users from the other two largest smart phone markets – the iPhone and BlackBerry.
Essentially, the Android payment method would allow customers to wave the Android phone in front of a small “reader” at the checkout counter to make payments, replacing the use of his or her MasterCard or Citi card, according to The Wall Street Journal. The technology is still in its early development stage according to Reuters.
“I think it’s pretty cool, but then again, more people are going to try to steal smartphones if that’s the case” said Jarenn Stewart, senior kinesiology major and Android owner.
The payment system would allow Google to offer more customer data to retailers and help them target mobile device advertisements and discount offers, according to Reuters.
The Android payment system will only be effective to Android smartphone users who have a NFC chip, which is the necessary chip to use the device on the contact-less payment readers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Rumors suggest that the next generation of the iPhone will include a similar NFC chip amid talks of an AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon collaboration with Discover Financial Services, according to The Wall Street Journal.