Google applies for mobile payment patent

As the international media waits with baited breath for the Google phone, the United States Patent and Trademark Office just published an application from Google that details the company's effort late last year to patent a mobile payment service, called GPay. The application describes a process whereby a mobile phone triggers a "computer-implemented method of effectuating an electronic online payment." The service would enable users to send Google a text message specifying a payee and amount, and Google would make the transfer. While there are already plenty of mobile payment solutions on the market, a Google phone loaded with the company's applications, including a new mobile payment service, could galvanize the fledgling mobile financial market. Click the image above for a sneak peak at what the "Gpay" interface might look like, according to the Google application. 

For more on Google's patent application:
- read the patent description here