Google Wants to Know, “What’s in Your Wallet?”

We have been sharing different blog articles featuring some of the best digital financial solutions like Square Cash, PayPal, and Coin, and like so many other digital services on the market, Google wants in on the action. Google Wallet is a new solution that helps consumers consolidate their different accounts and manage their money. You already trust Google with all of your personal information, why not your financial accounts?

Google Wallet has the ability to track both the digital and physical financial transactions via one easy-to-use Google app. The app is web-based, which means that it can be easily accessed from anywhere on any mobile device, and with Google Wallet, users can easily and securely send money over email. Google Wallet is an entirely new financial experience for consumers, and it's designed to be as easy and convenient as say, using your leather wallet.

Google Wallet works by syncing with your checking or savings account. This allows for the easy exchange of money. Like a wallet, you can take money out of your various accounts and put as much as you need in your Google Wallet account. To make purchases, Google Wallet comes with a physical card the size of a standard credit card. It can be swiped wherever MasterCard is accepted, and it draws money directly from your Google Wallet account, which you can easily transfer additional money to when the account runs short.

When the balance of your Google Wallet account runs low, Google gives you the option to use the Google Wallet card as a credit or debit card linked to your various accounts. When making a credit card purchase using Google Wallet, there is a 2.9% per-purchase fee for every transaction. You can even use Google Wallet to withdraw cash directly from an ATM, and Google Wallet has a generous spending cap of $5,000 per 24-hour period.

Google Wallet is increasingly showing up as a digital payment option for many online retailers, starting with Google itself. This means that paying for something online using Google Wallet is as easy as clicking on the Google Wallet button upon checkout.

Unlike most credit cards, Google Wallet gives the user the ability to track their purchases in real time, which means that the most recent transaction will instantly show up on your Google Wallet app, and your balance will be updated accordingly. Money is not the only thing that can be tracked and managed by Google Wallet. Google will also help you manage your rewards and store loyalty cards by keeping all of this information in a separate menu.

Many major retail stores have implemented in-store Google Wallet readers, which can pick up information from the Google Wallet app using near-field communication (NFC) technology. With an NFC reader, all you have to do is wave their smartphone over the reader to transfer the data, saving you from having to dig in your wallet during checkout to find your card, dig out cash, or keep your receipt.

Like so many of Google's services, signing up for Google Wallet is free. It's also free to use and it's even free to link Google Wallet with your MasterCard account. Google guarantees the security of Google Wallet. Users are kept informed of every transaction with notifications, and Google actively monitors Google Wallet accounts and they will lock accounts down if any suspicious activity is detected.

Google Wallet is a solid solution that will help clear the clutter out of your wallet and help you to track the money in your account along with your purchases in real time--all from your smartphone! You can see our previous blog article to compare Google Wallet to a similar financial solution called Coin. Unlike Coin, Google Wallet is currently on the market, whereas Coin won't be released until this summer. If you would like help finding great solutions like Google Wallet for your business to make operations easier, then give Directive a call at 607.433.2200.