A Different Kind of Email Attachment

Sometimes the best things to come out of Google I/O are the things that are barely mentioned. Sure, most people are talking about the new cross-platform messaging app called Hangouts, or they are too busy complaining that there was no reveal of Android 5.0, also known as Key Lime Pie. Don't get me wrong, I think Hangouts is a fantastic first step, but they still have some work to do if their aim is to make it the go-to messaging service.

Now there were plenty of exciting services and products that were announced at Google I/O last week, but the feature that made me do a double take... was the ability to email money.

From Google's blog:

"Google Wallet is now integrated with Gmail, so you can quickly and securely send money to friends and family directly within Gmail -- even if they don’t have a Gmail address. It's free to send money if your bank account is linked to Google Wallet or using your Google Wallet Balance, and low fees apply to send money using your linked credit or debit card."

I can almost hear all the celebrations from the broke college students. Now all dad has to do is send an email, and he can include pizza money in his lecture about eating too much junk food. Of course, this only works coming from a Gmail user.

Google is closing the doors on it's Google Checkout and rolling all of that service up into Google Wallet, and this is another way of trying to attract more Wallet users. And it will work too! The handful of people I see waiting in line to use Western Union each time I go to the grocery store... now they don't have to leave home. Grandma can continue to mail a birthday card, but she no longer has to mail a check. Now there is a better way.

So I will state right now, the 'send money' feature in Gmail will be a success... eventually. Some things take off slower than others, and services that involve money can make most users leery. But once there is an understanding of how easy, and secure, it is, people will use it.

I wish I could tell you more about it, how it works, any limitations, etc., but Google is rolling it out slowly over the next several months, and I haven't received it just yet.