There’s just something about plastic, isn’t there? While Google tried to convince the world that we could all pay for everything using only our mobiles, the harsh reality is that we’re still probably many, many years out from that being possible. In the interim, it looks as if Google’s planning to bridge the divide with a Google Wallet card. While rumored earlier in the year, now the company’s own support pages are starting to mention the heretofore unannounced product by name, noting that “all Android devices with an operating system of Android 2.3.3 or higher are eligible to download the Google Wallet app for use with the Google Wallet card.” There’s still no word on what the thing will look like, where you’ll be able to get one, or when you’ll be able to stuff it between that aging Cheesecake Factory gift card and your expired AAA membership, but you can bet we’ll be keeping an eye out.
Google’s own support site confirms ‘Google Wallet card’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google does seem set on augmenting their NFC-based Google Wallet payment system with an actual, physical card in the weeks to come. In fact, there are leaked images of the Google Wallet card appearing online, where it will be tied down to a user’s Google Wallet account, which will also replace any other credit cards that you have attached to a particular account. Apart from that, there are also rumors that Google intends to update their Google Wallet app so that iOS support is thrown into the mix, never mind that right now, no iPhone or iPads do come with NFC capability. You can read more into that rumor in our story that 
Google Wallet has certainly matured in the recent months, where you can say that a slew of new users have jumped aboard the Google Wallet bandwagon, mostly courtesy of the Nexus 7 tablet’s release. Word on the street has it that Google is preparing to introduce even more big changes this time around by teasing users with a spanking new version of Google Wallet. It does seem as though the main Wallet page did advertise the looming of a new version, where it will also provide a link to a signup page for you to throw in a request for an invitation to the new Wallet if you are interested.
NFC technology is not new, but the adoption rate of this technology has been minimal at best. Even efforts to include NFC connectivity in devices such as tablets and smartphones have not really taken off in a huge way, and most smartphones users too have yet to make a wireless payment via NFC. Google Wallet, despite being around for quite some time already, has until now received limited support from carriers. Perhaps things might change with the introduction of the new Nexus 7 tablet, as Google has announced an update for the Nexus 7 tablet which will introduce Google Wallet support.
