Google has overhauled its mobile wallet service, opening it up to all Android devices running version 2.3 or higher and distancing it from its NFC-based origins.
When it launched in 2011 Google Wallet was pitched as a tool for enabling in-store, NFC-based payments. But, thanks to a limited number of compatible handsets and the refusal of telcos AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon to back it, the service has failed to take off.
The latest version of the Wallet app marks a major departure from Google's initial blueprint, opening it up to all handsets running at least Gingerbread and to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon subscribers.
Although these customers will not be able to make NFC payments, they can make free person-to-person payments from their bank account or Google Wallet balance to anyone in the US with an e-mail address.
Google has also beefed up its loyalty point features, letting users add their cards to the app by scanning their barcodes or entering their numbers. In-store customers can then collect points by scanning the app at checkout, rather than having to use NFC.
Partners - including Alaska Airlines, Belly, and Red Mango - have also struck deals to let people sign up to their programmes from within the app.
Meanwhile, offers found through apps such as Google Maps, Search and Google+, as well as select merchant and couponing sites such as Valpak, can be redeemed from the Wallet at checkout.
Google insists that it will "continue to invest in NFC" but the technology appears to be losing favour in the mobile money market, with both Apple and PayPal deciding to snub it in favour of Bluetooth low energy.