Google is planning to release updates to its mobile wallet at its developer conference next week, but a companion won’t be one of them according to tech bloggers following the company. AllThingsD reported the news about the card and that the head of Google Wallet is leaving the company.
Sources said the scuttling — for now — of an extended effort to roll out such a card was announced in a recent memo that also included the news that Google Wallet head Osama Bedier was leaving the company.
There were multiple signs that a Google card might be coming, according to tech blog, The Verge.
The company has been linked with the launch of a credit card since November, when a leaked version of the Wallet app revealed references to a physical card that would mimic a user’s existing credit or debit cards. Google later provided more evidence that a Wallet card was coming, publishing details on a support page that stated the card would be compatible with any Android device running 2.3.3 or above.
Google formerly offered plastic prepaid cards to facilitate transactions at merchants that could not accept mobile payments. It shut down the program in December. Read the announcement along with FAQs here.