Riding on the popularity of its Google Wallet service, Google released a new, cloud-based version of the app today. It supports all credit and debit cards from Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. The new version gives users freedom to use any card when shopping in-store or online with Google Wallet. It is also synched with your Google Wallet account on the web, allowing you to remotely disable your mobile wallet app from it.

In a new post on Google’s newly launched Android Official Blog, Robin Dua, Head of Product Management, Google Wallet, gives an inside view on the newly launched service and explains the changes Google had to make in the app to support all credit and debit cards. According to the post, the Google Wallet app now stores your payment cards on highly secure Google servers, instead of in the secure storage area on your phone.

A wallet ID (virtual card number) is stored on your phone, which is used to facilitate transactions when you shop. The charges are instantly reflected in your credit or debit card. This new approach also speeds up the integration process for banks that want to help their customers and save their cards to Google. Now the banks can add their cards to the Wallet app in just a few weeks.

You can save a card to Google Wallet by just entering the number into the mobile app, online wallet, or Google Play at the time of any transaction. When you shop in-store, you can use Google Wallet in conjunction with your selected credit or debit card for purchases. As soon as you make the payment, a transaction entry appears on the phone with the merchant name and transaction amount. The online wallet also gives you access to the history of all your in-store and online purchases.

Google is also serious about the security of its Google wallet service. According to Robin Dua, “We take security very seriously and have always had a dedicated Google Wallet PIN to prevent others from making payments with your Google Wallet. And as always, we encourage Google Wallet customers to set up the phone’s screen lock -- as an extra layer of protection. Today, we’re adding a Google Wallet security feature that makes it possible for you to remotely disable your mobile wallet on a lost phone. It’s easy. If you lose your phone, just visit the ‘Devices’ section in the online wallet and select the phone with the mobile wallet you wish to disable.

When you successfully disable your wallet on a device, Google Wallet will not authorize any transactions attempted with that device. If the Google Wallet online service can establish a connection to your device, it will remotely reset your mobile wallet, clearing it of card and transaction data. There is no way you can do that with your leather wallet.” Though, for now, Google Prepaid Cards and some Citi MasterCard cards will remain active until Google Wallet can remotely connect and reset your mobile wallet, he further explained.

The new Google Wallet app is now available for download on Google Play.
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