New Google Wallet App Moves Past NFC and to All Major Carriers. iPhone Version on Tap?
Google is launching a new version of its Google Wallet app for Android today and there are some big changes. — Most notably, the app will now be available on all Android devices running version 2.3 …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google Wallet began with a narrower Sprint launch backed by Visa, American Express and Discover, and Google had signaled that another Wallet version was coming. The September 2013 release turns that promise into a broader Android distribution move.
By extending the app to Android 2.3 devices across major carriers and moving beyond NFC, Google shifts Wallet’s immediate constraint from a particular carrier-and-hardware setup toward app availability.
First-order effects
- Android 2.3 users on major carriers can access Google Wallet without the earlier NFC-centric limitation, expanding Google’s reachable user base.
- Major carriers no longer define which of their Android subscribers can obtain Google Wallet under the app’s new distribution model.
Second-order effects
- Visa, American Express and Discover gain access to a larger potential Wallet audience than the original Sprint-centered rollout supported.
- Competing mobile-payment offerings must compete more on app reach and consumer utility, rather than relying on NFC-capable handset availability or carrier distribution.
Third-order effects
- If broad app distribution proves durable, mobile wallets will be shaped less by NFC hardware and carrier partnerships and more by the software layer that connects users to payment credentials.
The trend: Mobile payments are moving from carrier- and NFC-bound launches toward broadly distributed wallet apps that can serve as a permission layer for payment credentials.