G+_Alfredo Suarez Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 In regards to payments. I wonder if Google had really pushed Wallet with banks in countries where NFC payment was already a completely normal way of life they could have already succeeded. Google could have (and still can) acquired foot holds and models to show the American retail industry the benefits. Here in Australia it's hard to find any store which doesn't have a "tap to pay" as nearly all the credit and debit cards have NFC chips. (All new vending machines have tap to pay). I find it incredibly frustrating that the Google Wallet functionality is hamstrung in Australia. I was flabbergasted to find out a few years ago how backwards the payment system was in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jose C Martinez Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Times are tough in the U.S.A. #Sarcasm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Clément Roux Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Pradyumn Vij same here in France. I think Google thinks all their products like USA first and then the world if it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_L I Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 It's probably more that the banking regulation is more onerous in countries outside the US. NFC and mobile payments infrastructure have been built into KitKat for over a year - couldn't anyone else have built an Android app that used HCE via NFC that worked in Australia? Or Canada or the UK? PayPal? Square? There must be a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Pradyumn Vij Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Lionel D There are, Coca Cola uses an app called Quicktap on most of the vending machines for NFC payments in early 2014. There was another <$100 payment app that was released with one of our banks (Commonwealth) but was exclusive to Samsung phones. Another bank (Westpac) allows you to clone your card to Google Wallet but has limited it to only Samsung phones. Basically Samsung has really been trying to get exclusivity with the banks. Ideally what should have been done is for Google to ask all the banks to ok Google Wallet and the problem would have been solved (as soon as one bank would accept the others have to follow as with all policies that banks adopt here). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_L I Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Pradyumn Vij it sounds like the problem is an unwillingness for the banks to take a risk. As a matter of fact I want to think that can describe any pre-Apple Pay mobile payment decisions including the Isis/Softcard decisions by US carriers. The dynamic seems to be: 1. Apple waits for someone to try a limited slice of the market. 2. Apple studies the successes and failures, and uses its influence (even if only in the media) to involve partners and introduce the feature to the tech media as new/improved/more secure. 3. Other companies now get their ideas validated, expand their offering and iterate their technical solutions. This is where Google is now. But tbh the Google/Samsung disconnect will continue to hamper Android as long as Samsung remains the top seller in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Pradyumn Vij Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Lionel D agreed, the rift created from Samsung seems incredibly silly, long term they seem to expect to rival Google itself (hence Tizen etc) or what they see as stand out features is just hampering the entire platform with fragmentation leaking from Android to how business is done. I have no idea why people buy Samsung, I even have family friends (not very tech adept) who are committed to Samsung but because of all the random S apps and Touchwiz they have no idea of all the unified Google apps functionality. This sort of confusion may be why things like Viber and Whatsapp even have a following (instead of Hangouts). When compared to the Apple ecosystem it is very clear that everyone uses iMessage instead of 3rd party apps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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