Attendees watch a demonstration of the Google wallet application screen during a news conference unveiling the mobile payment system.—Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO: Google is ready to open its smartphone wallet to the public.

Shops taking part in the new payment system were notified Monday that “Google Wallet” was shifting from test phase to general use.

Signs indicating that customers could pay using Google Nexus S 4G smartphones were spotted at check-out counters at establishments in San Francisco and New York.

The Internet giant in May unveiled the free mobile application that turns a smartphone into an electronic wallet.

Google along with financial partners Citibank and MasterCard and telecom ally Sprint began testing Wallet in May and promised it would be available by the end of September.

Google Wallet will initially work with the Nexus S 4G smartphone from Sprint and will eventually be expanded to more Android phones.

Google Wallet uses a near field communication (NFC) chip embedded in a phone to allow a user to “tap-and-pay” for purchases at a checkout register equipped with the PayPass system from CitiMasterCard.

Customers can also use a Google Prepaid card to pay for purchases, topping up the Google card with any payment card, and take advantage of Google Offers, the Mountain View, California-based company's online discount coupon program.

Google said Google Wallet will be accepted at more than 124,000 merchants nationally at launch and more than 311,000 around the world.

NFC technology is being tested or used in a number of countries already, notably France, but Google Wallet will be the first to bring it to the United States on a potentially large scale.

Stephanie Tilenius, Google's vice president for commerce and payments, has described Google Wallet as the “next generation of mobile commerce.”

“We're building an open commerce ecosystem that for the first time will make it possible for you to pay with an NFC wallet and redeem consumer promotions all in one tap, while shopping offline,” Tilenius said.

In addition to allowing for mobile payments, Google Wallet allows consumers to pay using gift cards and to redeem promotions such as discounts or coupons.