Google introduced its new mobile payments system on September 19, allowing people to pay for purchases simply by waving their smartphones at the cash register. The Google Wallet stores people's credit card information, coupons and discount cards on smartphones using Google's Android operating system, currently the world's most popular platform on the devices.
For now the Google Wallet only works with Google's Nexus 4G phone over the Sprint network in the United States, and via an agreement with Mastercard. But phones that include the Near Field Communications chip that the system uses are expected to hit the mainstream next year, when Google Wallet could quickly become a viable alternative to credit cards.