Shots fired in impending mobile payment war

Well, shots are rumored to be fired tomorrow anyway. That’s when all the rumors (sniff sniff, smells like a controlled leak) say that Google will announce a new mobile payment system to be used on the Nexus S Android phone carried by Sprint. Sprint? Yep, the Ringo of carriers gets to go first here. From what it sounds like, you’ll be able to load up credit on your phone and then simply swipe it in front of a reader device when you go to pay. No need to open an app or fuss about with QR codes or anything like that. The service will initially be available in New York, LA, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington. Google has scheduled a press event for tomorrow.
Every handset maker, every network, every operating platform are working on mobile payments right now. The era of the digital wallet is coming. Are you ready?