Google is adding to its growing arsenal of mobile applications and services–according to a patent originally filed in February 2006 and made public last week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the search giant is planning a mobile payment service. The so-called “GPay” service would enable consumers to authenticate payments, debit purchaser accounts and credit seller accounts via text message. Described in the patent application as “a computer-implemented method of effectuating an electronic on-line payment,” GPay appears roughly similar in concept and scope to existing mobile payment platforms–a year ago, Google launched an online payment system, Google Checkout, and in May released a mobile iteration of the service, which is presently limited to online transactions.
Source: Information Week
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I think the GPay system is more likely to be used in the near future to facilitate people buying directly from the Google Product Search For Mobile service, as that one is already out in beta as per AccuraCast’s news: http://www.accuracast.com/search-daily-news/mobile-7471/introducing-google-product-search-for-mobile/