Google requires "Google Wallet" for Conference - Here we go!

[Kilika]

Well, it's been coming for some time, but it has arrived; private companies implementing a policy of using digital payments. No need for government to require it when companies will do it for them, and of course Google is leading the charge.

Paypal also has jumped into the mobile payment market so you can use Paypal from your smartphone. 

http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/28/technology/google-wallet-io/index.htm

Google demands payment through Google Wallet for its conference

By Laurie Segall @CNNMoneyTech March 29, 2012: 2:57 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- If you want to attend Google's annual developer conference, Google I/O, you'd better be prepared to use the company's technology to secure a spot.

When it opened registration on Tuesday, Google required potential attendees to use a Google+ account and pay the $900 general admission fee using Google Wallet, the company's new -- and not exactly widely adopted -- payment system.

It's a mandate that drew criticism from some in the tech realm. In a blog post titled "Why I'm letting my Google IO Invitation expire," entrepreneur Jeffrey Zeldman blasted the obstacles involved in signing up.

Google itself acknowledged the potential hurdles."In case your bank declines your purchase through Google Wallet, you may need to call the bank that issued your credit card and let them know that you want to make a large purchase," the company wrote in an email to potential attendees.

Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) spokeswoman Elizabeth Markman defended the Google Wallet requirement, saying it was intended to speed things up.

"Because you can configure information ahead of time, we used Wallet to expedite the registration process," she said, noting that it's not the first time Google required registrants to use its own tech services. It required Google Checkout, the predecessor to Google Wallet, for Google I/O registration in 2011.

Google Wallet is intended to be a phone-based payment system, but right now it's only available on a small number of Sprint phones. A Web version has a broader potential audience, but even there, the service not available yet in some countries. To register for Google I/O, people in those countries had to call or email Google for assistance.

"The number there was minimal," Markman said.

It may have been a hassle, but the Google Wallet requirement clearly wasn't a dealbreaker. The conference sold out in 20 minutes, Google executive Vic Gundotra announced on Google+. The gathering will take place in late June in San Francisco. 

First Published: March 28, 2012: 5:58 PM ET

http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/29/technology/paypal-zong-ceo/index.htm

PayPal taps mobile chief as its new leader

By Laurie Segall @CNNMoneyTech March 29, 2012: 5:28 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- PayPal is throwing its full weight into the mobile payments market. To fill its vacant top spot, the Web payments giant is elevating David Marcus, who joined the company in August as its mobile chief.

EBay (EBAY, Fortune 500) said Thursday that Marcus, the former CEO of mobile payments technology developer Zong, will become the new president of its PayPal subsidiary. He takes the role left open by former PayPal president Scott Thompson, who departed in January to become Yahoo's new CEO.

Marcus joined PayPal last year when it shelled out $240 million in cash to acquire his company. Founded in 2008, Zong lets users pay by smartphone for virtual goods. It's a payments providers for Facebook's digital currency, Facebook Credits.

Before launching Zong, Marcus started two previous companies: alternative carrier company GTN telecom, which was acquired by World Access, and Echovox, which helped media companies connect with audiences through mobile devices.

"He's going to lead PayPal with that 'founder's perspective,'" eBay CEO John Donahoe wrote Thursday on PayPal's blog.

PayPal is at a critical point: It wants to expand its Web dominance into the fast-growing mobile payments realm. The company is on track to process $7 billion in mobile payments this year. That's 10 times its mobile volume just two years ago, when it handled $750 million.

In one of its latest maneuvers, it launched PayPal Here, a direct competitor to much-buzzed-about payments upstart Square.

But PayPal is just one of many players looking to crack the mobile payment space. Everyone from carriers like Verizon Wireless and AT&T (T, Fortune 500) to banking giants like Visa (V, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) have been trying out mobile payments solutions. (cont.)