Google's new wallet app lets users pay for goods with a wave of their smartphone

GOOGLE signs a licensing deal with Visa to include credit and debit cards in its new mobile wallet application.

Google Wallet

VISA Inc said today that it signed a licensing deal to include its credit and debit cards in Google Inc's mobile wallet application.

The San Francisco company said the deal lets banks that issue Visa-branded cards enable their customers to add their credit, debit and prepaid cards to the Google Wallet, which allows consumers to wave their smart phones in front of special point of sale terminals to make a purchase.

"This agreement builds on Visa's strategy of enabling consumers to make mobile payments with whatever device they choose using the trusted accounts they already have," Jim McCarthy, global head of products at Visa, said.

Stephanie Tilenius, vice president of commerce and payments at Google, in a statement, called the partnership a "crucial step" toward advancing mobile payments.

Google unveiled the mobile wallet application in May. Its initial partners were Citigroup Inc, Sprint Nextel Corp, MasterCard In. and payments technology company First Data Corp.

MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga said last week at a technology showcase that Google Wallet would be rolled out to customers in the coming weeks.

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