Google Wallet now lets you send money to anyone in your contact list using just a phone number, at least it will if you’re based in the US with a US bank account.
When you send money to a phone number, the recipient will get a text message with a secure link. They can simply enter their debit card to claim the money and it will be available in their bank account within minutes… although of course it does assume that the recipient is happy to sign up for Google Wallet which not everyone will want to do.
It does of course sound like a spiffy idea, whilst we might not know the bank account numbers or even the current email addresses for all our friends, it’s likely that we do have their phone numbers stored in our smart phones. I’m just not sure that if someone sends me money with PayPal, someone else uses Barclays Ping It, and now a third friend decides to send me cash with Google Wallet, that I necessarily want to be signed up for every new service that comes along.
