At its I/O developer conference last week, Google revealed a prototype of a "Hands Free" payment feature that will allow customers to pay without taking out their wallet or phone.
To use the feature, customers would download an app onto their mobile phone. When checking out, the shopper indicates they're paying with Google. A Bluetooth sensor detects the app and instantly bills them. The cashier is apparently able to verify the user by seeing an image of their face and their name on the register.
A Hands Free website inviting individuals and merchants to partake in future tests explored some of the potential security concerns. The site reads, "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."
The site did not provide further specifics. Kyle Wiggers, for Digital Trends, wrote that "presumably a combination of geofencing and cloud-saved banking credentials" backed the technology.
![[Image: Hands Free]](/public/images/discussions/18313/hands-free-still.jpg)
Several reports noted that similar technologies have been tested but not rolled out. Square introduced hands-free payments in 2011, but has since retired the feature apparently because it didn't gain traction with merchants. In 2013, PayPal premiered a similar technology using Beacon.
The Hands Free test, which was described as in the "early prototype stage," came in the afternoon of the conference following Google's launch of Android Pay, a tap-to-pay mobile payments app that will be initially available at 700,000 stores.
A Google spokesperson told The Verge it was too early to know if and when Hands Free would be integrated with Android Pay.
The technology will be tested in coming months at select McDonald's and Papa John's in San Francisco. At the I/O developer session, McDonald's Chief Digital Officer Atif Rafiq called Hands Free "an entirely new level of convenience."
- Hands Free - Google
- Forget Android Pay, Google wants you to leave the phone behind with Hands Free - Digital Trends
- Google's "Hands Free" will allow you to shop at stores without pulling out your phone - The Verge
- Google's Other Mobile Payments Service: Hands Free at McDonald's - The Wall Street Journal (sub. required)
- Android Pay is old news now: Google teases Hands Free Payments prototype - ARS Technica