Google has suffered yet another setback in its attempts to re-imagine electronic payments.
The Associated Press reports that Verizon, one of Google’s key allies in the mobile sphere, has decided not to include the company’s new Google Wallet function in its latest smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.
Verizon was integral in the promotion of Android-based phones as an alternative to iPhones, but the company has been slow to warm up to the Wallet app, which is designed to allow users to attach virtual “credit cards” to the phone and pay by simply tapping the phone on a type of reader.
Verizon noted potential security concerns with the new system, but the company’s reticence to adopt the technology likely stems at least in part with its place in ISIS, a group of telecommunications companies that are hoping to create their own mobile payments system.
The only phone currently allowing the use of Google Wallet is run through Sprint, which is not a part of ISIS. The Los Angeles Times notes that the move to block Google Wallet is particularly surprising given that the Galaxy Nexus was designed specifically to have such capabilities.
