According to the Wall Street Journal, the search engine giant is set to launch a revamped version of Google Wallet at its I/O developer conference in May 2015.
The re-launch is, at least in part, the result of mobile carriers becoming more receptive to Google’s vision of mobile commerce. Three of the US mobile networks, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile previously developed their own mobile wallet platform called Softcard, which Google is reportedly looking to acquire.
The networks are less resistive to Google Wallet 2.0, as they make no revenue from Apple Pay, the mobile payments service which launched in October 2014.
The fact that the Android platform is much more fragmented than iOS means that it will have less control over whether handsets launch with the app, something that is not an issue for Apple, the source mentions.
The fact that Samsung, one of the manufacturers of Android phones, has just acquired mobile payments startup LoopPay with a view to entering the ecommerce sphere is also a blow to Google’s plans.
Nevertheless, Google is reported to be in discussions with a number of banks and payment carriers ahead of the proposed Google Wallet re-launch in May 2015.
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