Google on Thursday will launch a mobile payment system which will let people use smartphones to pay for their buy at shops as easily as they use a credit card, according to sources. User's smartphone is to become as good as wallet.
Google is to unveil the system at a press conference in New York with the help of major financial institutions that have partnered with the California-based Internet giant on the project.
Google built its latest-generation "Nexus S" smartphone with NFC chips that turn devices into virtual wallets, allowing users to "tap and pay" for financial transactions.
South Korea's Samsung built the touch-screen handsets, which are powered by Google's Android mobile operating system.
Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said shortly before the Nexus S hit the market in December that he expects the tap-and-pay mobile technology to "eventually replace credit cards."
A mobile payment system centered on Android-powered gadgets could add to the momentum of Google smartphones in the fiercely competitive market.
