With the NFC chip and Android's Gingerbread operating system, mobile device users will be able to tap a physical map point -- the now-iconic Google Places point -- to pay with their mobile device in lieu of credit cards or cash.
Google, then, is essentially announcing a very strategic move into the highly competitive mobile payment space.
In fact, Schmidt disclosed that Google will partner with third-party payment processors and continue to look for monetization opportunities through advertising. From the sound of it, this will be a competitive effort against PayPal's Mobile Express Checkout.
The showcased technology, described as "Bump for everything," will be baked into the Gingerbread release slated to come out in a few weeks. Schmidt believes that NFC chips will go a long to advance mobile payments, as the industry believes the technology will help minimize fraud.