Google to start mobile payment service trial

Within four months time, customers will be allowed to ring up purchases using their phones at stores in both New York and San Francisco.

Near field communication, or NFC technology, is short-range wireless technology that consists of an initiator and a target. It allows mobile device users to use their cell phones to ring up purchases at a register, eliminating the need for cash or credit cards. It works by tapping the mobile device at a register, and the NFC chip, which holds the user's financial account information, interacts with a device at the register allowing for payment.