Google Wallet takes to the cloud, supports major credit cards

Google Wallet, launched in 2011, is a mobile application that uses NFC (Near Field Wireless) communication technology to enable users to make payments for goods in store by swiping their phone.   

Wednesday's cloud-based update means that Google Wallet now supports credit and debit cards from American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa (where it previously only worked with Citibank and MasterCard) and can be used online as well as in store.

The update also means that Google has changed its approach to storing card data, transferring sensitive information to secure Google servers rather than storing it on the secure storage area of a smartphone.

Cloud-based storage also means that the payment system can be synced across multiple devices, which users can choose to remotely disable if they so need to.

The updates will bring Google Wallet into competition with other credit/debit card supported online payment systems such as Paypal.

For a video overview of Google Wallet see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuFVsaFCzsw