tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/google-wallet-1489/articlesGoogle Wallet – The Conversation2013-05-22T03:10:44Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/145402013-05-22T03:10:44Z2013-05-22T03:10:44ZFrom your wallet to Google Wallet: your digital payment options<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24249/original/25mrw4tm-1369192662.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Forgot your purse? Don't worry - read on for digital payment options.</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Money has come a long way from gold coins stamped with the Emperor’s likeness. Today, the vast majority of money is digitised - in the US, notes and coins comprise only <a href="https://www.aier.org/article/7672-got-cash-not-long">7% of cash in circulation</a>.</p>
<p>So with the arrival of so-called “<a href="http://www.quidco.com/blog/what-exactly-is-peer-to-peer-money-transfer-and-how-is-it-saving-people-so-much-money/">peer-to-peer money transfer</a>”, the average person in the street can now directly participate in banking activities that until recently were the sole province of established banks and financial institutions. If you have a computer and an internet connection, you can plug yourself into the global economy and be your own banker.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24233/original/g9b3wqy9-1369185718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24233/original/g9b3wqy9-1369185718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24233/original/g9b3wqy9-1369185718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24233/original/g9b3wqy9-1369185718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24233/original/g9b3wqy9-1369185718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24233/original/g9b3wqy9-1369185718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24233/original/g9b3wqy9-1369185718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24233/original/g9b3wqy9-1369185718.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Will cold hard cash soon be a thing of the past?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">epSos.de</span></span>
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<p>Transferring money electronically is hardly a new phenomenon. What is remarkable, though, is that the barriers to entry and the costs involved have fallen to such low levels.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.westernunion.com.au/">Western Union</a> is a well-known early example of the traditional method of “wiring” money to people in other parts of the world. They are still going strong, though with their <a href="http://onlinefx.westernunion.com.au/funding-and-payment-types/">substantial fees</a>, they face some stiff competition. Enter PayPal.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.paypal.com">PayPal</a> has dominated the internet-based money transfer business since being <a href="http://news.cnet.com/2100-1017-941964.html">acquired by eBay</a> in 2002. In the years that followed, PayPal has extended its reach around the world and now processes transactions in the order of <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/25/paypal-now-processing-315-million-in-payments-per-day/">hundreds of millions of dollars</a> daily.</p>
<h2>Unfriending PayPal</h2>
<p>But now, some new players have taken to the field, their business models having fresh appeal to internet-savvy consumers. <a href="http://www.google.com.au/wallet">Google Wallet</a>, <a href="https://square.com/cash">Square Cash</a>, <a href="http://transferwise.com/">TransferWise</a> and <a href="http://bitcoin.org/en/">BitCoin</a> are representative of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_online_payment_service_providers">growing number</a> of peer-to-peer money transfer technologies now available to citizens of the online economy.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24232/original/n6zvbf9c-1369185712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24232/original/n6zvbf9c-1369185712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/24232/original/n6zvbf9c-1369185712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24232/original/n6zvbf9c-1369185712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24232/original/n6zvbf9c-1369185712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24232/original/n6zvbf9c-1369185712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24232/original/n6zvbf9c-1369185712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/24232/original/n6zvbf9c-1369185712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">sevenfloorsdown</span></span>
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<ul>
<li><p><a href="http://www.google.com.au/wallet/">Google Wallet</a> turns an Android-powered smartphone into a mobile payment device. Using Near Field Communication (<a href="http://www.nearfieldcommunication.org/">NFC</a>) you bring the phone into close proximity with a <a href="https://www.paypass.com/">PayPass</a> reader at the point-of-sale and the funds are automatically transferred from your account to the vendor’s. However, Google Wallet has recently had some embarrassing <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/249599/google_wallet_security_concerns_raised.html">security vulnerabilities</a> that Google are busily working to solve. In the coming months, Google Wallet will be <a href="http://www.google.com/wallet/send-money/">extended to Gmail</a>. Making a payment will be as simple as attaching a photo to an email. Compose the email, click on the “Attach Money” icon, enter the amount, and send. The recipient can accept (or reject) the payment upon receipt of the email with the funds being deposited into the recipient’s linked account.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://square.com/cash">Square Cash</a> is a new service from innovative point-of-sale company <a href="http://www.square.com">Square</a>. To send money with Square Cash, you send an email to the payee with a currency amount in the subject line and “pay@square.com” in the cc field. The recipient types in their account details and Square transfers the funds within 48 hours. A flat fee of 50 cents is charged to the sender and the recipient is not charged. Square is yet to make a formal announcement about their new service, though this should not be long in coming.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://transferwise.com/">TransferWise</a> is a London-based service that uses the same peer-to-peer networking principle as Skype (indeed, one of the founders was <a href="http://transferwise.com/about">Skype’s first employee</a>). The service is likely to appeal to anyone who wishes to send money from one country to another without paying the 5% fee associated with bank-to-bank currency conversions. The idea is simple enough; TransferWise acts as a low-cost broker to convert funds from one currency to another at the more favourable mid-market exchange rate. The customer transfers the funds from their bank account to TransferWise who converts the funds into the desired currency then deposits it into the recipient’s account within 48 hours.</p></li>
</ul>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K_tAjbEUcBw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Transferwise cuts out middlemen in currency exchange.</span></figcaption>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://bitcoin.org/en/">Bitcoin</a> is a somewhat <a href="https://theconversation.com/bitcoin-a-pirates-booty-or-the-new-global-currency-3130">mysterious and controversial</a> payment system. It is a “<a href="http://www.techopedia.com/definition/27531/cryptocurrency">crypto-currency</a>” that relies on decentralised peer-to-peer technology to fully anonymise transactions. While it’s <a href="http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/05/wary-of-bitcoin-a-guide-to-some-other-cryptocurrencies/">not the only crypto-currency</a> around, it is certainly the best known. Bitcoins are purchased with regular money from an online broker. The customer makes an over-the-counter bank deposit into the broker’s account. The purchased Bitcoins are then deposited into an <a href="http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Escrow+account">escrow account</a>, ready to be paid to a vendor on successful conclusion of the sale. Bitcoins are completely untraceable, a fact that annoys governments and regulators no end. This libertarian ethos makes Bitcoin the currency of choice for people trading on <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5805928/the-underground-website-where-you-can-buy-any-drug-imaginable">Silk Road</a>, the online black market on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_web">Deep Web</a> where illegal drugs and other contraband can be purchased. But not every vendor who accepts Bitcoins is trading in illegal commodities - a growing number of legitimate vendors are accepting crypto-currencies because some customers insist on extreme privacy as a matter of principle.</li>
</ul>
<p>As more people in developed and developing countries participate in the global economy, we are going to see a proliferation of digital currencies. The ones reviewed here are just the beginning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/14540/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Tuffley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Money has come a long way from gold coins stamped with the Emperor’s likeness. Today, the vast majority of money is digitised - in the US, notes and coins comprise only 7% of cash in circulation. So with…David Tuffley, Lecturer in Applied Ethics & Socio-Technical Studies, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/46862012-01-29T19:34:32Z2012-01-29T19:34:32ZDigital economy: why tech firms want a piece of your wallet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/6656/original/fv5xp8jg-1324426577.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fabric and leather wallets are so early 21st century.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">PrettyCoolShops</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Banks, financial institutions and now internet service providers such as Google are falling over each other to gain a share of your wallet – your digital wallet to be precise. </p>
<p>Of course, not all of us have a digital wallet, whether in the form of a smartphone app or a bit of plastic with an embedded smart chip.</p>
<p>But with the lure of lowering the cost of processing purchasing transactions while ostensibly making it easier for us to part with our money, will we, as consumers, all eventually be forced into that reality? The marketplace is filling fast, with players such as <a href="http://www.mastercard.us/paypass.html">MasterCard PayPass</a> and <a href="https://www.v.me/">Visa’s V.me</a>.</p>
<p>The digital wallet – as the name suggests – essentially replaces the physical wallet. You just “tap and go” – as the MasterCard motto puts it – at the terminal, and for small value transactions, probably in the order of $100 or less, you don’t even need to enter a PIN. </p>
<p>Your card or phone communicates with the <a href="http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci774854,00.html">Point of Sale</a> (POS) terminal using very short range wireless signals called <a href="http://mashable.com/2010/05/06/near-field-communication/">Near Field Communications</a> (NFC). Nothing could be easier – or so it seems.</p>
<p>No prize for guessing why this idea is so feted at industry level. For merchants, heads of banks, heads of retail chains, and anyone else needing to take a slice of your money, digital wallets are a potential win-win-win-win-win … How so? Well, let’s see.</p>
<p><em><strong>Win one – no barrier to payment.</strong></em> Compare the digital wallet’s convenience factor to the conventional approach of having to fiddle with your wallet, get out the folding stuff (if you have any) or insert/ swipe a credit card, enter a pin and wait for a receipt.</p>
<p><em><strong>Win two – faster checkout times.</strong></em> Queues at the checkout should (theoretically) be reduced as the time taken to pay is reduced to a few seconds. Also, that impulse purchase may be far easier without those checkout queues. No queuing time = more sales = more money through the digital wallet system.</p>
<p><strong><em>Win three – lowers merchants’ costs.</em></strong> Increasing the opportunity for “self-service” checkouts when combined with faster queues means fewer humans need to be employed at the checkout. </p>
<p>After all, humans are an unnecessary cost and are, well, hard and costly to manage. Even better – in situations where <em>you</em> are essentially manning the checkout, you can’t complain about the service!</p>
<p><em><strong>Win four – less cash = more money.</strong></em> In the shift to digital money, retailers and merchants need to handle less cash. Cash is expensive. It needs to be shipped by security couriers, insured, counted, reconciled and stored. No cash = more money for the retailer and/or merchant.</p>
<p><strong><em>Win five – we know where you live.</em></strong> Your transaction is worth more to others than it is to you! Cash guarantees anonymity, meaning retailers, among others, are unable to feast on the information contained in your spending patterns. </p>
<p>With a digital wallet, your transactions are available for forensic, marketing and other purposes. </p>
<p>Will all these benefits reduce the cost of the goods and services to the consumer? One can only hope. </p>
<p>The biggest potential downside for you and I is a fairly obvious one: fraud and security. Most financial institutions offer the guarantee to consumers that they will not be liable for loss or theft (provided there was no contributing negligence), and assuming the amount is not too large. </p>
<p>Will this watertight, zero-liability assurance make consumers feel any better about the digital wallet?</p>
<p>It might. But if it’s a small amount of cash, it may go unnoticed, as a percentage of consumers do not meticulously check their bank account transaction history. Consumers would also need to take the time to fill in online or paper forms to make a payment dispute, and wait to see if their money’s going to be returned. For small amounts, they may not bother.</p>
<p>For the individual with one disputed transaction, the zero-liability guarantee may appear comforting. But the reality is that the overall, system-wide cost of fraud is ultimately paid by the consumer. </p>
<p>These costs will be recouped through the whole conga-line of financial and non-financial institutions that handle your transactions by additional fees, levies and other instruments. The balance is between convenience, cost and risk.</p>
<p>Finally, most all the regulators are acutely aware of the speed of emergence and adoption of instruments such as the digital wallet, NFC and other innovations. From the US Federal Reserve to the Reserve Bank of Australia, all such institutions have position papers, working parties and other vehicles for coming to grips with this new innovation. </p>
<p>The real question is: will they all be able to get ahead of the game?</p>
<p>Payment processing ecosystems are evolving rapidly on a range of fronts: technical and security complexity, market competition for a slice of the digital money train, and the expectations of consumers for increased convenience and immediacy. </p>
<p>But this is where we’re heading – you can bet your wallet on it. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/4686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Livingstone is the owner and principal of an advisory practice that provides independent advice on cloud computing as well as other consulting services to industry. </span></em></p>Banks, financial institutions and now internet service providers such as Google are falling over each other to gain a share of your wallet – your digital wallet to be precise. Of course, not all of us…Rob Livingstone, Fellow of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/34512011-09-20T04:34:18Z2011-09-20T04:34:18ZIs Google Wallet a virtual game-changer?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3728/original/5764362757_fb5c1cb9aa_z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Carrying cards and cash on your phone seems like a big call.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>So it’s finally here: Google Wallet, a free <a href="https://market.android.com/?hl=en">Android</a> app that turns your (Google) smartphone into a mobile payment system, <a href="http://www.google.com/wallet/vision.html">launched</a> today. </p>
<p>To do this, the company has partnered with Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint. More banks and credit services look set to follow this lead.</p>
<p>The advertisement (see below) featuring Seinfeld’s hapless <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Costanza">George Costanza</a> gives the soft sell for the new technology: our wallets as they stand are unwieldy, chocked-full of receipts and cards. </p>
<p>How much better would it be if we had a virtual wallet, right there in our phones? </p>
<p>By launching now, Google has stolen a march on PayPal, which has revealed, but not yet launched <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/paypal-offers-sneak-peek-of-upcoming-virtual-wallet-offering/58145">its own virtual wallet</a>.</p>
<p>But the idea’s not new. Virtual wallets – in the shape of a <a href="http://blog.japantimes.co.jp/japan-pulse/tag/edy/">service known as Edy</a> – have been <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4384500.stm">widely used in Japan since 2004</a>.</p>
<p>At the moment, Google Wallet is only enabled on the company’s own <a href="http://www.samsung.com/us/article/meet-the-nexus-s-with-android-2-3">Samsung Nexus S</a> smartphone, and it’s unclear <a href="http://www.zdnet.com.au/nfc-less-iphone-a-blow-to-industry-paypal-339312324.htm">whether the upcoming iPhone 5</a> will carry the required technology to run the app.</p>
<figure>
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<p>There’s been <a href="http://www.techworld.com.au/article/388153/google_nfc-based_wallet_no_go_australia/">no word from Google</a> about a potential launch date for Australia, which has <a href="http://delimiter.com.au/2011/05/27/googles-wallet-wont-open-for-australia/">raised the ire</a> of some Australian tech-heads.</p>
<p>From a user’s perspective, the app couldn’t be simpler: you tap your smart phone on a reader at a point of sale and the money is debited from your designated account. </p>
<p>For added security, users must also enter a PIN in the application to enable each payment.</p>
<h2>How does it work?</h2>
<p>The app employs something known as Near Field Communication (NFC), a wireless technology that transmits information between an “initiator” (your phone) and a “target” (the payment terminal).</p>
<p>Like <a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/bluetooth.htm">Bluetooth</a>, it’s a short-range communication technology. Because NFC uses radio waves for identification purposes, it fits within existing RFID (<a href="http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/rfid.htm">Radio Frequency ID</a>) standards.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3727/original/inky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3727/original/inky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3727/original/inky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3727/original/inky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3727/original/inky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3727/original/inky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3727/original/inky.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Cash could become a thing of the past.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">inky</span></span>
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<p>Where NFC differs from both Bluetooth and RFID is its range: it transmits data across very small distances, typically between four and 10 centimetres.</p>
<p>This makes it particularly suitable for busy areas – shopping malls, sporting stadia – where correlating a signal with a transmitting device can be particularly difficult.</p>
<p>The Google Wallet also uses higher-layer <a href="http://www.irisa.fr/celtique/genet/crypto.html">cryptographic protocols</a> to establish a secure channel.</p>
<h2>Risky business?</h2>
<p>You could look at the Google Wallet – as the company might want you to – as a revolution in consumer empowerment. Likewise, you could see it as just another incremental step in the ongoing digitisation and consumerisation of IT services.</p>
<p>But however you spin it, the risks of using Google Wallet go further than simply misplacing your phone.</p>
<p>UNSW Cyberspace law and policy professor <a href="http://www.rogerclarke.com/Person.html">Roger Clarke</a> recently <a href="http://www.rogerclarke.com/EC/CCC.html">reviewed the terms of service</a> for a number of apps that use <a href="http://theconversation.com/chromebook-why-google-has-its-head-in-the-cloud-1285">the cloud</a>.</p>
<p>He found Google, along with <a href="http://theconversation.com/linkedin-twittered-out-the-business-and-pleasure-of-social-media-3307">LinkedIn</a>, had the poorest terms of use when it came to privacy. </p>
<p>Entrusting your financial transactions to a company that, while championing the slogan “<a href="http://investor.google.com/corporate/code-of-conduct.html">Don’t Be Evil</a>”, still has a history of serious <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/337791/What_Google_Knows_About_You">privacy concerns</a>, might seem questionable. </p>
<p>Simply put, the company wants your information – in this, Google’s no different to many big companies currently out there.</p>
<h2>Theft</h2>
<p>To allay fears of what might happen if your phone is stolen by a spend-happy mugger, Google <a href="http://www.google.com/wallet/faq.html">notes the following</a>: “After adding your Citi MasterCard card to Google Wallet, you can immediately spend up to $100 USD. To access your full credit line, Citi will send you an activation code that you will have to enter into Google Wallet.”</p>
<p>In other words, there’s a limit on spend unless you are the genuine owner of the phone.</p>
<p>Already, as things stand, if your phone is stolen you need to call your service provider to report it. In the case of a phone with Google Wallet, you’ll also have to call your credit card company. </p>
<p>While Google provides the service to use your credit card, it has little to offer in case of loss or theft, <a href="http://www.google.com/wallet/how-it-works-security.html">merely stating</a> its customers should call their banks.</p>
<h2>Should we buy it?</h2>
<p>Whatever financial service you sign up for, it’s always crucial to read your contract carefully. This is especially important for a new service such as Google Wallet.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3724/original/Viajar24h.com.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/3724/original/Viajar24h.com.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3724/original/Viajar24h.com.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3724/original/Viajar24h.com.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3724/original/Viajar24h.com.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3724/original/Viajar24h.com.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/3724/original/Viajar24h.com.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=703&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Would you trust Google with your money?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Viajar24h.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>For once, it’s important not to just tick the “I accept” box without reading the terms, as we so often do online. </p>
<p>But it doesn’t stop there. You will also need to review what the merchant (MasterCard, for example) includes in its terms and conditions, which may be different from a standard contract.</p>
<p>And given Google is a foreign entity, it’s also important to clarify what your rights are here in Australia.</p>
<p>We’ve already seen the clash between Australian law and Google’s practices when the company <a href="http://www.itnews.com.au/News/219424,google-breached-australians-privacy-commissioner.aspx">breached the Privacy Act</a> while putting together <a href="http://maps.google.com.au/intl/en/help/maps/streetview/">Street View</a> in Australia.</p>
<p>Before Australians sign up for a Google Wallet (should we be given the chance) we need to know what our consumer rights are, and what the dispute process will be if anything goes wrong.</p>
<p>A Google Wallet might keep serial receipt hoarders like Georg e Costanza happy, but we won’t know for a while if it’s the game-changer its creators hope for.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/3451/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob Livingstone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>So it’s finally here: Google Wallet, a free Android app that turns your (Google) smartphone into a mobile payment system, launched today. To do this, the company has partnered with Citi, MasterCard, First…Rob Livingstone, Fellow of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.