“These are not the droids you are looking for.” Wouldn’t it be cool if we could the Force in our lives? Imagine being able to do all sorts of things just by speaking it out loud, that would be awesome, right? Well Google is looking to give you that chance by announcing Hands Free, a new payment method in which you can pay for purchases by using just your voice.
Yup, there would be absolutely no need to dig through your pants or bag for your wallet, cash, credit cards, or even your phone. All you’d have to do is walk up to the cashier and say the magic words: “I would like to pay with Google”, after which the payment would then be made and you’d be good to go on your way.
Now this isn’t the first time that a company has tried this sort of contactless payment. Square and PayPal have launched similar initiatives in the past although safe to say that neither has gained much traction, but with Google’s name and resources behind it, perhaps this could work. Unfortunately it is unclear as to how Hands Free actually works, but so far all we know is that it will be based on your voice.
Google will be launching limited testing at Papa John’s and McDonald’s outlets and users interested in helping out can head on over to the Hands Free website to request an invite. Now it does seem a bit odd for Google to launch this feature considering that with Android M, they also introduced Android Pay.
It also seems to be existing as a separate service as a Google spokesperson told The Verge that it is too early to tell if and when Hands Free would be integrated with Android Pay, but hopefully more details on how it works will emerge in the near future. In the meantime check out the video above to see it in action.
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