Google Unveils Wallet And Offers: An Open Platform For Mobile Payments
May 26, 2011 at 12:09 PM EDT
We're here at Google's massive New York City HQ (they own an entire block) for what Google was calling a "partner event" but everyone knew was really an "NFC event" . Sure enough, Stephanie Tilenius, Google's VP of Commerce, has taken the stage to announce Google Wallet and Google Offers. Right off the bat, Tilenius wanted to make it clear that this would be an open platform. She invited "payment networks, carriers, and banks to join us in creating tomorrow’s shopping experience". And some of those partners are already on board. Citi, Mastercard, FirstData, and Sprint are the initial partners.