Google teases 'hands free' payments

Google teases 'hands free' payments

It may have only launched Android Pay last week but Google is already looking for the next big thing in payments, teasing a "hands free" service that will be piloted later this year.

On a dedicated website, the Web giant outlines how customers at the checkout will be able to keep their wallets and mobile phones in their pockets, simply telling cashiers that they would like to pay with Google.



People in the San Francisco Bay area can apply to test the system later this year, with McDonald's and Papa John's signed on as merchants.

Technical details have not been disclosed but the similar Square Wallet service used geofencing to connect customers to their phones for identification. The Square product was dropped last year after failing to win over either retailers or customers.

Comments: (1)

A Finextra member
A Finextra member 02 June, 2015, 11:03Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

From my brief research, Googles "Hand's Free" initiative appears to be geo-fencing with iBeacons that recognize an individual's smartphone combined with biometric voice recognition and the phrase, "I'd like to pay with Google."

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