Taken from
HowStuffWorks
With Google Wallet, you can quickly pay for items on- or offline with
just one tap. You’ll also simultaneously redeem coupons and collect
loyalty points.
The Wallet concept banks on a couple of spreading technologies including smartphones and
near-field communication (NFC).
For instance, you can use an
NFC-enabled phone
to pay for things, from parking meters and pet supplies to sandwiches
and much more. Visit a merchant who's equipped with an NFC checkout
system, and with your NFC smartphone, complete what's called a
contactless payment.
Tap or wave your phone near the
NFC terminal, enter your
PIN (personal
identification number) and you're done. You don't even need a paper
receipt because the store can send an electronic copy directly to your
e-mail account.
You can set up
Wallet with your credit cards, gift cards, loyalty cards
and more so you'll have the option to pay with whatever source you
choose. Of course, to use
Wallet at all, you need to find stores that
actually have the equipment to read the
NFC chip in your phone.
Google
anticipated this infrastructure problem. Rather than build a
proprietary network of terminals, the company made
Wallet compatible
with MasterCard's PayPass system, which is already available at around
150,000 locations.
Wallet works online, too. You can basically use the app to speed through checkout at sites all over the Web.
Quick,
painless payments are only one component of
Google Wallet.
Also, be sure to check out this official
Google Wallet introduction video from Google :
