Google is planning a push into the m-commerce market, with the possibility a new service may debut later in 2011, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, which cited “two people familiar with the plans.”
The service will be underpinned by NFC technology, enabling purchases to be made by customers waving a device over a receiver at the point-of-sale.
The news is perhaps unsurprising, following the addition of support for some NFC features in the latest version of Google’s Android platform, as used by the flagship Nexus S smartphone from Samsung. Bloomberg Businessweek also suggests that the service will bring together several other Google propositions, including the Zetawire mobile wallet yechnology it acquired in 2010, and its Google Checkout payment service, which has failed to generate much traction in the market against rival PayPal.
However, in order for the services to become mainstream, it will need to be broadly adopted by handset manufacturers and widely adopted by retailers, to enable purchases to be made by the largest possible user base.
Certainly momentum is growing for NFC globally.
AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless created a joint venture called Isis late in 2010 with the intention of rolling out services over an 18-month timeframe, while operator Orange recently announced an aggressive NFC strategy which is set to gain pace in the second half of 2011.
A number of handset makers are also set to embrace NFC in future products, with Nokia, Apple and RIM either confirmed or reported to be planning to support the technology. Research firm iSuppli says that NFC is set for an explosive growth phase from 2011.
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