In a new report on Tuesday, Bloomberg Businessweek reaffirms that Google has big plans for NFC. The report cites two people familiar with Google’s plans in claiming that the Internet giant is building a service that will combine mobile payments and advertising. As Google tries to spread its net wider and make money on both sides of the retail equation — take a piece when companies advertise a product, then take another piece when customers purchase the product — a solid mobile payment product is an absolute necessity. Google acquired stealth mobile payment startup Zetawire last year, and the inclusion of NFC capabilities in the Google Nexus S and other upcoming Android devices is very telling. The key is getting retailers on board; smartphone payment systems are gaining traction in some markets but key regions like the U.S. are not yet making significant progress in the area. With Google behind the new push, however, smartphone payment systems have a much better chance of being more widely adopted.
