Google Wallet has turbo-charged its expansion by doing a deal with WePay that will make it widely available as a payment method across the internet.
Google Wallet and Apple Pay are two of the most important wireless payments solutions for the future, and while Apple is gunning for the high street, Wallet has just staked a big claim on the net's payments.
It has forged a deal with WePay to allow quick purchases through Google Wallet in 200,000 shops online.
Wireless payment future
This move will rapidly increase public recognition of Google Wallet as a trusted payments standard alongside PayPal, acting as an important precursor to its roll-out on the high street.
Although currently behind Apple Pay in this regard, Google is expected to develop Wallet as a way to pay for things on the high street, using a phone or other mobile device as an alternative to contactless card payments.
The technical requirement here is NFC, used to communicate between a mobile device and a shop's terminal.
The future for Apple Pay is a little clearer, though. It's already available in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and will be built into the Apple Watch when it launches later this year and will work much like a cashback credit card.
According to VentureBeat, WePay is also in the process of hooking up with Apple Pay, making this a case of Google catching up a little, rather than it getting one over Apple.
