Making payments with my phone

I used my Galaxy Nexus phone and Google Wallet application the other day to pay for my meal at McDonald’s. The technology that makes this possible is near field communication (NFC). It was not a perfect experience as the first attempt failed but the second attempt went through. The guy at the counter was a little confused to what i was doing and was even more surprised when my meal was suddenly paid for 🙂

I know that some people have reservations about this technology worrying that bumping into someone can cause a charge against their credit card. The good news is that a pin is required to make payments and in the case of Google Wallet and MasterCard, they have consumer protection to address these concerns.

I look forward to using this technology which already exists at Best Buy, BP Stations, CVS, Home Depot, and McDonald’s among others. There is a good chance that technology will be included in the next iPhone which will really blow up this market. It will be interesting to see how phone manufacturers and carriers handle this technology and try to capture revenue from these technologies.