Google Wallet facing criticism regarding security features
Google has been working to establish itself as a major force in the burgeoning mobile commerce industry. The company has been among the first of its kind to produce a mobile payment application, called Google Wallet. The Wallet was released last year and was highly anticipated amongst the company’s fans. The application quickly made headlines for its lackluster security features, however, which straddled Google with a great deal of criticism because it had touted the applications security features before release.
Commonwealth Bank denounces Google Wallet
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has determined that Android phones equipped with NFC technology are not suitable for establishing a contactless banking structure for the mobile commerce industry. The declaration is partly due to the faulty security features found with Google’s NFC chips and its Wallet application. The bank notes that NFC-enabled Android devices often only have the radio transmitting feature activated, leaving the majority of the chip’s inherent security features dormant.
Wallet shows history of security shortfalls
This comes as another blow to Google, which could hamper the company’s position in the mobile commerce industry. The industry is growing more competitive as technology companies and financial institutions begin developing their own mobile payment systems. Earlier this year, the security features of Google’s Wallet application were circumvented using a brute force hacking method from intrepid security enthusiasts. Since then, the company has been unable to show that it has been able to shore up the security issues found with the Wallet application, deciding instead to improve the security capabilities of its new NFC-enabled mobile devices.
Isis may become leader of mobile commerce industry
Isis, a joint venture from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless, has managed to become a leader in the mobile commerce industry, despite the fact that the platform is not yet available commercially. Isis has garnered the support of all the world’s major banking and financial institutions, leaving Google with slim pickings for its mobile commerce system.
