Google Wallet seeks to replace boarding passes, bus tickets
updated 11:15 am EDT, Tue August 28, 2012
Product lead wants phones as 'primary transaction device'
Google plans to expand its payment system to store other cards usually kept in a wallet, according to the leader of the team developing the technology. At present, Google Wallet keeps track of payment details and loyalty cards, but the head of Google Wallet product management, Robin Dua, wants it to also hold airline boarding passes, ID cards, gift cards and concert tickets.
In a live YouTube stream, Dua outlined the goal of storing other types of consumer information for other services, and to "make it super simple for them to get their credentials stored in the wallet." He claimed that it was an aim to allow users to leave their wallets at home and use a phone as a "primary transaction device."
If Google is to make this possible, it will have to compete against Apple and its iTravel concept, patented last month. The Passbook-style system uses an app for ticketing and ID tasks through the iPhone, and is aimed at similar customer information transfers through the same transit systems. Passbook, another Apple application set to appear with the release of iOS 6, handles similar items like movie tickets and coupons or vouchers.
Earlier this month, Google expanded its Wallet system to allow all major credit and debit cards to take advantage of mobile payments, with the addition of over 200,000 retail locations across the US through a partnership with MasterCard PayPass. [via Mobile Burn]
