Let's clarify some things here, before the comment threads take off too much:<p>- This is a prepaid card. It does <i>not</i> proxy other cards, unlike previous rumored versions of a Wallet card.<p>- It only draws from Wallet balance. Funds can be added to wallet balance via various means (bank account [free], receiving a GMail P2P payment [free], credit cards [2.9% fee]), but this does not happen automatically.<p>As such, it does not appear to be trying to achieve the same "card replacement" that e.g. Coin is. No, it is simply providing another way to get at Wallet balance that doesn't involve transfer to a bank account or NFC payment. Could be useful for people who make use of GMail P2P payments.
Very disappointed that the Wallet Card has changed from its original goal of linking all your cards into one... that was the biggest appeal for me. Now that it's just another debit card, I doubt I will use it as my primary method of payment.
I don't think this is a big feature, or anything more than a convienience for already active google wallet users that want to be able to use a physical card at retailers that don't support NFC transactions. It's mentioned no where on the google wallet site [1] and doesn't seem to have any tech other than a mag stripe. Also the card is issued by Bancorp, the same bank that backs Simple. [2]<p>[1] <a href="http://www.google.com/wallet/" rel="nofollow">http://www.google.com/wallet/</a>
[2] <a href="https://www.simple.com/faq/" rel="nofollow">https://www.simple.com/faq/</a>
This is great; I really do love Wallet and wish more places supported NFC payments. It's great to have this for the ones that only have magstripes, as I can now effectively carry one card and my phone wherever I go.
Sounds interesting. When I got an NFC-enabled phone, I was excited to use Google Wallet, until I found out that Verizon blocks it. At least with a physical card, I don't have to deal with Verizon!
It's not really the google wallet card, of course. I really wanted the old Google Wallet card that was promised awhile back and then dropped.<p>So many wallet solutions have come out in the last few days.<p>Give me Wallaby:
<a href="https://walla.by/the-wallaby-card?ref=ecpeby" rel="nofollow">https://walla.by/the-wallaby-card?ref=ecpeby</a><p>Or Coin:
<a href="https://onlycoin.com/?referral=ETAu9R6E" rel="nofollow">https://onlycoin.com/?referral=ETAu9R6E</a><p>Google Fail.
This is similar to PayPal debit card right? PayPal also support Mastercard, which means you can use this prepaid card at any mastercard POS.<p><a href="https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/paypal-prepaid-mastercard" rel="nofollow">https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/paypal-prepaid-mastercard</a>