Say goodbye to Google checkout. Here comes Google Wallet

With the ever so innovative, digital era, it appears you can now count your mobile phone as your wallet. This doesn't mark the end of Google Checkout however. This new feature brings a new relationship between Google checkout and Google Wallet meaning 2 things:

1) Google Wallet users can now make purchases on Google Checkout enabled sites

2) Google  Checkout users will have their accounts automatically merged with Google Wallet

This couldn’t have been a more appropriate time to deliver an obviously beneficial feature. Save time and money with this virtual wallet that stores your payment cards, offers and more onto your phone and online. For those yet to do their Christmas shopping, you will now be able to seamlessly purchase products from merchants that accept Google Checkout. There’s no need to pull out your credit card or enter shipping details with every transaction. All you need is your Google Wallet Password and username and the job is done. Google are also integrating thispayment method amongst platforms such as Android Market, Youtube, Google+ Games and more.

Google Checkout was the competitive answer to Paypal, excluding a few features such as the ability to perform peer to peer transactions. Despite running plenty of ads directed towards Adword Advertisers, the feature wasn’t marketed very well and consequently lacked enough users to rival Paypal.

Where do they go from here?
After Google launched Google Wallet they announced plans to bring the feature to more phones in the future. Sprint is the first official carrier partner since it is the carrier offering the Nexus S 4G. But as other Android smartphones equipped with NFC (near-field communications) technology come on the market, other devices on other carriers will eventually be able to use the service too. Also Google Wallet only supports 2 kinds of cards:


• Citi® MasterCard® credit cards
• Google Prepaid Card


Eventually, however the digital wallet will support all payment cards so to empty your wallet and leaving you with the only plastic necessary. Your Phone.


How safe is it?

In order to make a purchase using Google Wallet, you are required to enter a PIN. Android phones also feature a separate lock screen. Google Wallet stores your encrypted payment card credentials on a computer chip on your phone called the Secure Element. Think of the Secure Element as a separate computer, capable of running programs and storing data. The Secure Element is separate from your Android phone's memory. The chip is designed to only allow trusted programs on the Secure Element itself to access the payment credentials stored therein.