Google Wallet byebye; Hello Apple PassBook!



mobilepayment

Google Wallet fans brace yourselves; Apple has once again prepared a shocking come back with its very own iOS 6 PassBook app , that is so simple yet so appealing.

Google Wallet’s Predicament

Let us explore the mobile-payment situation here in America; if you’ve ever tried to use your phone for means of buying goods or services at a retail store you probably know what a difficult task that is! Of course, if you are a Google fanatic, you can use their very own Google Wallet on one of their many Android devices out there. However, you will notice the very short list of participating vendors that are out there.

We are not trying to belittle Google by any means, for they are quite audacious to take on such an endeavor. However, NFC (Near Field Communication) has been a major hindrance in the way of their success.  Whether the problem is infrastructural, political or even financial (since their only partner is Citibank MasterCard), all we know is that fewer than 1 percent of the phones sold today have NFC chips embedded which is probably not what Google aimed for.

How will Apple change the game?

While Apple’s Passbook hasn’t been officially even released yet, but from what we can tell, it bypasses the major drawbacks of Google Wallet, particularly NFC and limited payment methods. Its sole purpose is to serve as a collector and repository for receipts, loyalty cards, and boarding passes from other retailers’ existing apps.

Infrastructural and static hardware limitations are transcended through relying on software and QR codes. The Passbook is also more versatile in the sense that apps can be added from vendors you already trust; Apple might spin this in their favor if they charge a cut to be a listed store within the PassBook app.

One major impediment is out for Apple though; this app cannot function is the store is not equipped with the special laser scanners that are built to read Smartphone screens. If we take a step back and think this through, we realize that if a store already has a retail app, then chances are it has already invested in the required infrastructure.

For now, we have to wait and see how it all goes down but our money will be definitely on a software-centered mobile-payment rather than one tied to hardware, Google listen up.

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