John Borkowski, October 21, 2011
Google Wallet, the new electronic self-checkout system that aims to simplify common purchases, reportedly entered into a contract with New Jersey Transit, the NJ based mass-transit system that includes Trains, Busses, and Subway systems in and out of New York and Pennsylvania. The company announced this week that they are implementing the ecommerce system to its ticketing machines throughout the state. What does this mean for busy commuters? Simply wave your iPhone or Android device in front of the ticket machine to automatically purchase your ticket and hop aboard.
The new Google Wallet system was launched last month and strategically places Google right in the heart of the multi-billion dollar mobile payments industry. Although PayPal, Inc. has changed the way of mobile payments, Google appears to be the first significant threat to the industry largely dominated by PayPal.
New Jersey Transit is the first transportation agency to partner and implement Google Wallet.
“Our partnership with Google demonstrates that N.J. Transit and the state are at the forefront of emerging technology, paving the way for further exploration of new customer-service technologies”, stated New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Is there any competition? Reportedly, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are in talks of a joint venture to introduce a similar concept in the North-West. Specifically, the State of Utah also announced recently that their Transit Authority expects to introduce a similar system in 2012. That system is the joint venture with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
