Google is reportedly testing one of its most significant features, Google Wallet, for its high-tech smart glasses so users can send money easily and instantly.
Google, the biggest Internet search and cloud service provider is expanding its app portfolio for the critically acclaimed Google Glass. The latest addition to the computer tech eyewear will allow Glass wearers to send money to friends using Google Wallet. According to well-informed sources, the feature is currently being tested so users can simply ask Google to "send money" while wearing the Glass, TechCrunch reports.
Google's limited group of Explorers reportedly has access to the new feature. According to the tech site blog, Glass users will be able to make wire transfers from within the Wallet app with few gestures and voice commands. The voice command will most likely be followed by Google's signature "Ok Glass" command, which will then offer a list of currencies and amounts to choose from. The gestures and swipes come in handy when users select the currency and the amount from the list.
Sources also revealed that Glass users must be logged in to Google's corporate network to install the app. Google will charge a 2.9 percent processing fees or 30 cents, whichever is higher, for the transactions.
Of late, Google has been focusing a lot on its mobile payment app. The web giant started off by integrating Google Wallet into Gmail in May last year, so users can send and receive payments via Google's free email web service. Later in September, the mobile app was redesigned completely and more recently the company added a new tool to track online purchases made via Wallet.
Google's integration of Wallet service into Glass will not be the only payment solution for its users. In February, a payment solutions startup based in Netherlands launched an app for Google Glass, Tech Times reports.
According to the startup's press release, users can pay for an item by simply saying "OK Glass, make a payment." The app will then use the Glass to scan the QR code on the item and the user can nod twice to confirm the transaction. So even if Google Wallet never makes it to the Glass' digital marketplace, its users will not be left hanging without an online payment solution.
With Google revamping its Wallet service over the years and expanding it to more platforms, it is safe to assume that the payment mode will make it to the Glass when it hits commercial availability later this year.
