Google Wallet launched: paying via smartphone is now possible

It has been some time since people started talking about Google Wallet, the method designed by Google that allows making payments via smartphone, as if it were using a completely virtual credit card, although it does exist.
Scheduled for September, the arrival of Google Wallet did not actually take long to happen: yesterday – during the NFC World Conference – it was presented alongside its implementation on the Nexus S 4G, currently possible thanks to the mobile operator Sprint.
Google Wallet presents itself, in practical terms, as an application functioning through Near Field Communication.
You will just need to preset the credit card information and, at the moment you have to pay for a good or service, simply bring the smartphone close to the special POS devices enabled for this kind of technology.
In this way the transaction will be done automatically, without needing to “swipe” the credit card and without having to sign paper receipts, with an indirect benefit also in terms of being “green”, as there is no superfluous documentation.
At this moment Google Wallet is working in combination with Mastercard cards from the Citi network and also, for those who decide to try the service, Google has provided a bonus of 10 dollars preloaded on a rechargeable credit card.
It is very likely that, after this first experimental phase, Google will decide to make the application Google Wallet available to other mobile devices as well, obviously provided they are devices running Android.
The timing for service activation with other mobile operators and for other types of credit cards is unknown: the project is still in its initial phase and it remains to be seen how much such a tool will appeal to users, as well as to merchants who will need to equip themselves with the appropriate POS devices.
In the meantime, here is the Google Wallet presentation video produced by the Google staff.