Google teases Hands Free mobile payment system, will arrive later this year

Just yesterday Google announced its new Android Pay platform, which allows users to pay for products with their mobile devices without the need to open an app. The new mobile payment system isn’t slated to make its way to the public until sometime in Q3, but that’s not stopping Google from releasing yet another mobile payment system. The new system is called Hands Free, and it will begin testing in the San Francisco Bay Area sometime later this year.

So what is Hands Free? Well, we’re not exactly sure yet. The not-so-informative video (attached above) shows a bunch of people having a really difficult time paying for things the old, boring way. The end of the teaser shows a woman saying, “I’d like to pay with Google”, and the teller just hands over the customer’s items. We’re assuming this has something to do with your phone’s Bluetooth connection, though like I said, details are still pretty scarce at the moment.

Google explains:

When you make a purchase, your full card details will not be shared with stores. Once you complete a purchase, you’ll receive an instant notification right on your phone. We’ll also alert you to any unusual activity so you can go hands-free and be worry-free.
​

Since Google seems to be putting all of its eggs in the Android Pay basket, it seems unlikely that the company would roll out another mobile payment system. It wouldn’t surprise us if this mysterious Hands Free technology made its way to Android Pay, so users can have the option to pay via NFC or by vocalizing their payment method, like in the video.

Google is bringing Hands Free to McDonalds and Papa John’s at the start, with more partners to likely to jump on board later.