Google has just release Google Wallet to the public, but only users who have Nexus S 4G smartphone from Sprint would be able to use Google Wallet. Other Android users have to wait as Google is working hard to make Google Wallet available for other Android devices. So what is it anyway?
Google Wallet allows users to make payments with their smartphones. Google Wallet relies on the participation and cooperation of Citibank, Mastercard, retailers, and merchants to make the transactions for Google Wallet users. The video right after the break shows you how Google Wallet works.
I’m not certain it’s a good idea to use a smartphone as a credit card. My uncertainty of this idea isn’t stemming from its applicable aspect, but more of how uncertain I am when it comes to smartphone security. Smartphone hackers describe smartphones as computer technology in the 90s, because very little security is there to actually secure smartphones from hacking activities. The video right after this paragraph shows how easy it’s for hackers to hack smartphones and ultimately compromising users’ privacy and sensitive information.
In conclusion, the idea of using a smartphone to pay for something is a very good idea. After all, users will carry their smartphones around with them at most of the time anyway, and so it’s sort of convenient for users to consolidate physical credit cards into digital form through Google Wallet and other third party software. Google Wallet is great in this aspect, but I’m not sure Google Wallet can prevent smartphone users from being hacked. It’s most likely that hackers will see Google Wallet as an incentive to target more smartphone users. The smartphone industry has to better come up with some sort of security methods so smartphone users can be more confident when it comes to use their smartphones for any financial situation such as paying something with Google Wallet. Lastly, when users begin to use their smartphones for financial transactions, their smartphones can suddenly become more attractive to thefts.
Source: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-09-google-smartphone-wallets.html
