In some ways it was Google’s answer to PayPal but it was also different in a number of respects (it didn’t allow peer to peer transactions for example). Tying into the near field communication (NFC) system built into select Android handsets, Google Wallet allows your phone to act as your credit card. By tapping your Android phone against a compatible card reader available in select retailers, your payment credentials are transferred to the merchant without any swiping or physical cards required.
Google Wallet will not work everywhere your credit card will. It won’t work everywhere there’s an NFC-friendly card reader, either. Wallet requires an NFC reader based on a new-ish specification, and only a select bunch of retailers have gotten around to updating.
On Day 1, Wallet supports just one third-party card: the Citi Mastercard. I don’t have one of those, and had a hard time finding anyone who does. Fortunately, Google is well aware of this. For those of us with other banks and other cards, they’ve created the Google Pre-paid card. You add funds to the pre-paid card from any other credit card you’ve got, then tap into this pre-paid pool whenever you make a purchase. As far as the cashier is concerned, Google Wallet acts like another credit card. I turned the phone on but did not launch the app, as Google's instructions note, and gently laid the phone on top of the reader. On screen, it asked what kind of payment was being used. Answer: credit. The app launched, asked me to enter my PIN, and flashed a confirmation screen when the transaction was done.
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