Google ended its Hands Free wireless payment pilot after an 11 month trial by users in San Francisco.
In a statement on the Get Google website, it thanked early adopters and said it would use the findings to “bring the best of Hands Free technology to even more people and stores”.
The company went on to say it couldn’t share any more details about how it would use the results of the pilot, and advised customers to move to its main transaction app Android Pay.
The pilot launched in March 2016, after being unveiled in summer 2015 at a developers conference.
Hands Free was designed to enable faster mobile transactions by allowing users to pay in-store with the app without having to tap their handset.
Users taking part in the pilot were able to walk into a participating store and tell the cashier “I’ll pay by Google”. They would then have the transaction verified through facial recognition technology using an image uploaded onto their Google profile.
The system used Bluetooth low energy, Wi-Fi and location services to alert users when they were in range of an outlet accepting Hands Free and, at the point of sale, the phone would use Bluetooth to connect the app to the payment terminal.
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