by Tom Taulli | November 5, 2012 10:57 am
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG[1]) Wallet is an app for the Android platform that can handle a broad array of credit cards, from Visa (NYSE:V[2]) to Discover (NYSE:DFS[3]) … but it’s not necessarily supported by every merchant, even if those merchants accept said cards.
Now, Google is working on an end-around.
According to a report from Information Week[4], Google is developing its own physical Google Wallet Card to use at places without near-field communication technology.
Even with Google’s enormous resources, it still would take quite a while to get merchants to install new payment systems compatible with the current Google Wallet. Thus, offering a physical card should give the company an opportunity to ramp up transaction volume in the near-term.
However, adoption of a Google Wallet Card might be hindered by the redundancy of using a physical card that’s tied to other physical cards.
Meanwhile, Google also is taking steps to improve the web-based system, including adding the ability to send money via email, make withdraws and deposits to a bank account, and seamlessly use transit cards.
Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPOPlaybook[5], a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He is also the author of “How to Create the Next Facebook.[6]” Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli[7]. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/11/report-google-is-going-plastic/
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