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Google is coming under some fire today, after the company went ahead with a huge (and necessary) update to their Google Wallet service. Yesterday, Google Wallet was updated with the ability for users to add any credit card of their choosing to the digital wallet service and that didn’t sit too well with American Express. According to AmEx, they had been in talks with Google about a partnership, but never formally agreed to anything. That prompted American Expresses social media VP Bradley Minor to release this statement to TechCrunch:
“We want to make sure Google’s mobile wallet product meets the standards we set for our Cardmembers in terms of transparency and clarity about transaction detail. Right now, American Express does not have an agreement with Google for our cards to be used in the Google mobile wallet.”
The reason for this being when an American Express customer uses Google Wallet to pay for a purchase instead of their card, detailed information about the transaction isn’t given to merchants. Instead, a “virtual Mastercard card number” will be issued in its place. On the user’s credit card statement, the transaction apparently wont show the specific merchant the purchase was made at, and that’s what’s keeping AmEx from going all-in with Google Wallet. Well, that and the fact that they’ve already teamed up for rival mobile payment service ISIS. It’s these reasons AmEx could pull the plug on Google Wallet altogether, removing themselves from the service entirely.
Hurry up ISIS, i’m tired of all this drama with Wallet. I would have preferred Wallet, but Big Red doesn’t let me use it (pricks)
Who disagree’s with me? I’m not saying i like ISIS, but at this point i just want to get it over with.
uhh yes they do…google wallet is now officially supported by the vzw gnex because it now “meets verizon’s security requirements” by storing your info in the cloud rather than on the secure element. Click this link with your nexus to get wallet. No rooting or anything required. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.walletnfcrel&rdid=com.google.android.apps.walletnfcrel&rdot=1
Not for GS3 though….
Ohhhh…a gs3. a bit more complicated than a quick download on a gnex, but it can be done if you are motivated. Don’t know how comfortable you are with stuff, but it involves editing your build.prop and flashing some zips in recovery. If you feel up to it, go for it and let me know how it turns out. Instructions are here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1794727
I tried downloading it and it says that my device is incompatible my nexus…
oh sorry…that link was if you had sideloaded the old version. Use this: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwAOAGzv4QAJNnFuLXVNbVdHUFk
Bookmark that first play link though. If an update every comes out, that link will let you update as long as you have some version of wallet on your phone already. Let me know how it goes!
Well, the email I got from Google Wallet yesterday stated:
“Google Wallet will then charge your selected payment card for the full amount of the transaction, which will appear on your bank statement as Google *merchant name.”
So, according to what google is reporting, your bank statement WILL show the merchant’s name.
Maybe for VISA and Mastercard. I know that AMEX uses a different credit system, so their reporting is probably different.
What isn’t being reported though is the details such as merchant type. So if you get extra rewards points for grocery purchases that won’t pass through Google Wallet to your credit card.
Not that they sanction Square, Level Up or any number of other third-party mobile payment systems, either.
Ok, going to cancel my card lol
The lack of detailed transaction information has nothing at all to do with why AmEx didn’t officially support Google Wallet. The reason why they don’t get the detailed information is precisely because they did not want to partner with them, so Google was forced to come up with this ‘hackish’ solution to get more credit cards available to the consumer. And I doubt AmEx really has a feasible way of ‘removing themselves from the service’, since it is just a normal transaction as far as they see it (except it is being done by Citi, rather than by the merchant directly).
From what I understand, AmEx has the ability to shut out Google Wallet entirely if they choose.
How though? It would be the same thing as blocking all amexes from being used at walmarts. Can they do that?
Maybe by specifically requesting Google keep them out? Not entirely sure.
Yeah me neither. Hopefeully this will spin in our favor and end up pressuring amex to provide official support
for AMEX to shut out google wallet, would be equivalent to say: “you can use your AMEX card to pay for anything in the world, but you cannot buy google prepaid credit. no you can’t use your AMEX card to buy that” because that’s essentially what’s happening… you use your google wallet prepaid mastercard (even if its at a $0 balance) and then “Google Wallet will then charge your selected payment card for the full amount”
WOW i got alot of dislikes for mentioning ISIS. I would have preferred having Google Wallet, but Verizon is blocking access for my GS3……This is why i just want to use a working payment system, at this point i will take ISIS, because obviously Google didn’t pitch the idea right to carriers.
Though I don’t always agree with you I do in this case. Google is the king of half-assing their products. They release stuff to market and it’s really not ready and/or doesn’t have full industry approval making it feel amateurish. If Google was run properly it would have had this all figured out before wallet hit the market. Since they couldn’t deliver a complete product I say bring on the competition.
Exactly. It’s not my fault as a consumer, that Google staff dropped the ball, and let some company named ISIS muscle their way into the field….On a side note, When i did have Wallet on my Gnex, there was a time window when Verizon completely blocked access to the app, and i still have money in there, and had no way of removing it. I had to make 3 calls to figure out how to retrieve money from the Google Wallet PrePaid card, and i never was able to. So another example of Google not completing a product.
AMEX just sucks in general, they should be happy that Google wallet is allowing their card, since there are plenty of places that still don’t accept AMEX. :-P
This will piss off all the Amex because Amex reward your purchases. They work with merchants to try to sell their services and those merchants get to buy into the program and promote Amex as an acceptable form of payment. now instead of the X million places you can get a reward for spending your $ you now have the backing of pay pass to expand your purchase options. Amex has no control over the situation aside of banning Google from making the transactions but unless Google has done something illegal that would land them in an anti competitive environment. especially since Amex has shown interest in backing a competitive provider to provide the same services.
well played Google. much love for adding this feature
I love amex. Have used them since 92 and have enjoyed a lot of benefits from them.
However… I love google more. So either play nice amex or I’m going to dump you whenever I want to use google wallet which is often these days.
Well if I can get a proper signal ( I’m looking g at you At&t) I can use the darn thing.
i would seriously consider cancelling my amex if they were to ban use of them in google wallet. Don’t be stupid amex.
Oh well. Out of all of my cards, Amex gets used the least by a far margin.
this is interesting because I used G-Wallet yesterday with my Visa and I checked my account online and it came
GOOGLE *[merchant name] 33189
Well, its their own damned fault. My Citi Card reports the transactions properly, it assigns the points properly. It sounds like MasterCard was able to come to an agreement regarding the transaction information. AMEX held out and Google moved on without them.
Deal with it. (insert shades meme here).