After Google Buys Motorola, What’s Next for the Payments Ecosystem?

It's hard to say at this point whether Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility is a master stroke, a rushed defensive measure or a disaster waiting to happen. Nor is it very clear what the impact might be on the mobile payments and mobile wallet businesses, if in fact there is any direction impact.

"If you were Google and had control of Android control of the handsets that shipped with Android already loaded on it, wouldn’t you also include Google Wallet features that users could just easily activate?" some would ask.

But the matter is complicated. Not everybody actually believes Google will keep Motorola Mobility, aside from its patents. Nor is it clear whether Android licensees will be as happy as they once were, now that Google has its own handset brand and business. It will be tough to truly preserve the value of the "open" Android ecosystem if Google does keep Motorola Mobility, and becomes a handset supplier in its own right.

What’s Next for the Payments Ecosystem?