Google NFC Payment Trials In NYC And San Francisco?

Google is believed to be readying an NFC payments trial in New York and San Francisco, offering customers the opportunity to make wireless purchases using their smartphone. The project is believed to begin within the next four months, according to Bloomberg's sources, and use custom VeriFone terminals and – we're presuming – Google's Nexus S smartphone.

The Nexus S was the first Android device to come with NFC functionality at the hardware level, though in its present form it's locked down to reading tags such as those used in the Google Places rollout. Future iterations will be able to write NFC tags, as well as exchange information between handsets.

According to the sources, Google will pay for the installation of "thousands" of NFC-enabled terminals across retail locations in both cities. The report speculates that each user will have not only their purchasing information but coupons, gift-card balances, loyalty cards and other subscriptions loaded onto the phone. The search giant itself has declined to comment.