Google Wallet to phase out prepaid card, cut-off date set for October 17th

Google Wallet to phase out prepaid card, cutoff date set for October 17th

Google Wallet's prepaid card concept has been plagued with its share of security concerns, and though Mountain View seems to have sorted out those issues, it's now phasing out the prepaid card program entirely. The service was intended to make up for a limited choice in debit and credit cards, and now that Google Wallet accepts any and all plastic, the prepaid option is a bit moot. The cut-off date for adding funds to a Google prepaid card is September 17th, and the prepaid option will vanish entirely on October 17th. Whereas users were previously charged $2.00 per month after 180 days without a transaction, they'll get slapped with the same fee after 30 days of no purchases. Google says you can request a refund if you have a remaining balance after the prepaid option kicks the bucket, though it's probably a good idea to just go ahead and spend those leftover dollars.



[Thanks, Chris]

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Google Wallet to phase out prepaid card, cut-off date set for October 17th originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE surfaces for Sprint

Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE surfaces for Sprint

If you found yourself on the wrong network for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Stellar smartphone, consider this: The Galaxy Victory. This little slab was leaked to Android Central recently, sporting similar specs to Verizon's upcoming budget device. Like its cousin, the Victory appears to have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a TouchWiz flavored serving of Ice Cream Sandwich and a 4-inch 800 x 480 display -- but it sets itself apart with a five-megapixel rear facing camera and quad-band GSM support. The handset also plays nice with Samsung's TecTiles accessory, as well as Google Wallet, Beam and other NFC standards. An internal employee promotion from Sprint pegs the device for a September release, but makes no mention of price or specific availability.

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Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE surfaces for Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Sep 2012 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everything Everywhere signs 5-year deal with MasterCard for mobile payments

Everything Everywhere signs 5year deal with MasterCard for mobile payments

MasterCard has switched up its NFC and Mobile Payments deal with T-Mobile and Orange to include corporate parent / sibling Everything Everywhere. The pairing will leverage the existing Orange Cash standard to get users onto the service, building out a person-to-person payment system similar to Pingit as they go. It's reportedly angered rival networks Vodafone and O2, still smarting from last week's 4G news, who were co-operating on a unified mobile payments service called "Project Oscar" that would have standardized the system nationwide. Given that Vodafone has partnered with Visa and O2 is trying things out on its own, perhaps the next time you choose a phone, you'll have to side with your card-provider of choice, too.

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Everything Everywhere signs 5-year deal with MasterCard for mobile payments originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 04:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google, PayPal, VeriFone and US carriers band together to form Mobile Payments Committee

Google, PayPal, ISIS and US carriers band together to form Mobile Payments Committee

There's little doubt that mobile payments hold a ton of potential for the future of commerce, but without proper direction (and willingness for adoption), the technology remains little more than an impractical curiosity for the majority of consumers. In an effort to define a way forward for the mobile payment industry, a large number of heavy hitters have banded together under the umbrella of the Electronic Transactions Association to form the Mobile Payments Committee. Not only does the group include all four of the top US carriers, but also Google, Isis, VeriFone and PayPal. Add to that financial institutions such as Wells Fargo and Capital One, along with American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa, and you'll quickly realize that this group is playing to win.

Primary goals of the Mobile Payments Committee include fostering relationships with merchants, ensuring consumer access to modern payment methods, exploring best practices and ensuring interoperability of networks, equipment and financial institutions. The group will also engage in lobbying activities with legislators and regulators, and will additionally work to educate both merchants and consumers about the potential of mobile payments. With so many key players (and competitors) sitting around one big table, what wouldn't you give to be a fly on the wall during those meetings? For a little extra insight, just hop the break for the full PR.

Continue reading Google, PayPal, VeriFone and US carriers band together to form Mobile Payments Committee

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Google, PayPal, VeriFone and US carriers band together to form Mobile Payments Committee originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Verizon Galaxy Nexus owners now have direct access to Google Wallet

PSA Verizon Galaxy Nexus owners now have direct access to Google Wallet

Nobody puts Google Wallet in the corner for long, not even Big Red. Though the carrier courted controversy late last year by withholding support for the burgeoning NFC-based platform amidst security concerns, it appears to have finally changed tack. Owners of that LTE Galaxy Nexus variant are now reporting the ability to access the app from the Play store, no workarounds necessary. Though we weren't able to verify the success of that particular method -- no results surfaced during a quick store search -- we did have success downloading the application to our stock, unrooted device using a direct market link. We've since reached out to Verizon for official comment on the matter, but have yet to hear back. In the meantime, if you've been itching to give Mountain View's brand of mobile payment a go, hit up the source link below and let us know how you fare in the comments.

[Thanks, Keith]

PSA: Verizon Galaxy Nexus owners now have direct access to Google Wallet originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Wallet moves to the cloud, opens up to all credit and debit cards

Google Wallet moves to the cloud, opens up to all credit and debit cards

Google Wallet has been hampered by a number of limitations since its launch, not the least of which is its limited device compatibility. Perhaps a bigger problem though, was its lack of support for most major credit and debit cards. Today that finally changes with the latest version of Big G's mobile payment system. Now you'll be able to use any credit or debit card you wish, and take them with you from one device to the next. Early versions of the digital wallet used the phones secure local storage to protect your card info, now it's all in the cloud allowing you to sync your preferred payment method across multiple devices and keep track of both your online and in-store purchase's through Google's web Wallet. Perhaps most importantly though, Mountain View has upped the security ante, by allowing you to disable individual devices, should a tragedy befall your beloved Nexus. For more info check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Google Wallet moves to the cloud, opens up to all credit and debit cards

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Google Wallet moves to the cloud, opens up to all credit and debit cards originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Wallet hack hits Verizon Galaxy S III

Google Wallet hack hits Verizon Galaxy S III


Verizon may not want you to have Google Wallet on your phone, but that won't stop intrepid rooters and hackers from shoehorning the app into Big Red's handsets. Mike Beauchamp and Dustin Evans took some time away from their recent Kansas City trip (to check out Google Fiber, of course) to get the Mountain View mobile payment solution up and running on a Galaxy S III. Is it more difficult than rooting your device and installing the app? Just a bit. Beauchamp's video doesn't offer much in the way of instruction, but it does show it being used to buy breakfast at Mickey D's. Thankfully, it looks like some folks over at the XDA forums have documented the solution, just check out the more coverage link.

Google Wallet hack hits Verizon Galaxy S III originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is Near Field Communication a Near-term Opportunity?


Backed by household names such as AT...

T-Mobile talking to Google about mobile payments in Europe as well, keeps playing the field

Google Wallet with Nexus S

The good ship T-Mobile isn't staying anchored in any one port for mobile payments: just hours after the ink started drying on a deal with MasterCard for NFC, the carrier's parent company Deutsche Telekom has confirmed to Bloomberg that it's been talking with Google as well. While Deutsche Telekom's innovation lead Thomas Kiessling hasn't said more about a pact beyond its being "theoretically possible," it's not hard to do the math and picture Google Wallet coming into the equation if discussions go smoothly. Google won't go so far as to comment on its own -- not that the silence is stopping the would-be German partner, which is also chatting up banks and individual credit card firms to make sure everything falls into place. If it pans out, a Google alliance would certainly help T-Mobile fend off competition from Orange in Europe and give Google Wallet some much-needed support.

T-Mobile talking to Google about mobile payments in Europe as well, keeps playing the field originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google I/O 2012 is Today. Live Video starts with Keynote starts at 9:30am


Google is educating its developer community on the new developments in Android, Chrome, Cloud, Google Wallet, Google Maps, Google+, Google Drive and Youtube starting today at the Google I/O 2012....