Google Wallet – why you shouldn’t throw away your wallet just yet

Google has announced, to some fanfare, what it hopes will be a revolution in the way we pay for things: Google Wallet.

Google Wallet is a smartphone app (currently only available for the Nexus S 4G Android phone) that aims to replace your credit cards.

It works like this. You go to a store (let’s imagine it’s a coffee shop), the barista hands you your steaming skinny caramel macchiato and a toasted onion bagel with low fat cream cheese and bacon, and rather than give them your credit card or reach into your pocket for some coins, you..

* take out your smartphone
* unlock it
* run the Google Wallet app
* enter the PIN for your Google Wallet app
* swipe your smartphone against the coffee shop’s pay point.

How convenient!

The Google Wallet app uses NFC (near-field communications) technology in your smartphone to wirelessly debit the credit card you have linked with the application.

Here’s…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.