20/09/11
By Karen Moss
Google has finally launched its much-rumored Google Wallet mobile payments platform in the US and Europe. Today's roll-out will focus on San Francisco and New York, and uses a Mastercard PayPass sign if the user has loaded prepaid card details on their phone.
Initially, Google has teamed up with CitiCard in the US so that customers can load their credit card details onto their phone and simply wave it at the reader or tap their phone when making a payment.
Google also have a prepaid virtual card which you can top up online, giving American early-adopters their first $10 free.
"We’ve been testing it extensively, and today we’re releasing the first version of the app to Sprint," Google announced on thier blog. "That means we’re beginning to roll out Google Wallet to all Sprint Nexus S 4G phones through an over-the-air update—just look for the “Wallet” app."
Watch a demo of the Google Wallet app in action here http://googleblog.blogspot.com/