Google’s other new payment service - Hands Free

Google’s other new payment service – Hands Free

01 JUN 2015

While Android Pay stole the headlines at last week’s I/O developer conference, Google also slipped out news of another payment service called Hands Free at the same event.

Still only a trial, the service enables consumers to make payments in shops or cafes by using only a voice command, as opposed to NFC-based tap-and-pay for Android Pay or rival services from Apple and Samsung.

From a YouTube video posted by the search giant (see below), user scenarios include when searching around a bag for a phone is inconvenient, such as a mother and baby. The customer states “I’d like to pay with Google”, and the payment is processed by a cashier, rather than using a mobile device or plastic card.

However, according to reports, users will still need to carry their phones with them. The technology behind the transaction is unclear; possibly some form of voice recognition,  or geofencing which uses the location of a user’s phone to authenticate an identity and payment.

Google will test Hands Free in a number of McDonald’s and Papa John restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area over the next few months.

Author

Richard Handford

Richard is the editor of Mobile World Live’s money channel and a contributor to the daily news service. He is an experienced technology and business journalist who previously worked as a freelancer for many publications over the last decade including...

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