A model demonstrates a Nexus One smartphone, the first mobile phone Google will sell directly to consumers, after a news conference in Mountain View
Google's flagship Android phone, the Nexus S, supports NFC technology. REUTERS

Google plans to test mobile payment services in New York and San Francisco, Bloomberg reports

The company's mobile payment trial, set to launch within four months, will be powered by near field communication technology.

Near field communication is the name given to short-range wireless technology with potential for a wide range of applications, including mobile payments.

With eBay, Verizon and AT&T already invested in mobile payment technology, Google is the latest company to invest in what some analysts expect will be a $100 billion industry by 2015.

Google's support for NFC isn't unprecedented. The company included NFC support in its flagship Android phone, the Nexus S. With the embedded NFC chip Nexus S phones allow users to read information embedded in a variety of objects, including posters and advertisements. And the Nexus S won't be alone: RIM and Nokia, too, have announced that they are bringing NFC technology to their devices.

The news comes a day after Apple sources revealed that the company is abandoning its own NFC ambitions in the iPhone 5. Concerned over mobile payment's lack of an industry standard, Apple is said to be developing its own version of technology. Likely introduced in the iPhone 6, Apple's answer to mobile payment will likely run through its iTunes store.

To contact the reporter responsible for this story call (646) 461 7294 or email r.bilton@ibtimes.com.

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