(CNN) -- The competition for payment processing services, especially mobile payments, is heating up. Last week Google kicked it up a notch by announcing that it's phasing out Google Checkout in favor of the new Google Wallet. This service supports in-store tap-to-pay payments from your phone via near field communications technology, as well as purchases on the web. If you log in to your Google Checkout account now, you'll be notified that you've been switched over to Google Wallet. Any credit cards or other payment information you've saved in Google Checkout will be available in Google Wallet. The catch: Google Wallet isn't yet widely used for in-store purchases. So far its NFC payments are enabled only for Sprint Nexus S users who also have a Citibank MasterCard or a Google prepaid card, and who are making purchases at MasterCard PayPass-enabled merchant locations.
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Google Wallet supports tap-to-pay phone payments using near field communication
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U.S. retailers are slow to adapt to NFC tools because of installation expenses and efforts
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Google Wallet will be offered as an option for Fandango.com and MovieTickets.com
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45 carriers around the world have announced their support of standards for NFC payments
In the meantime, while these issues sort out, Google also announced this week that it's making it easier to integrate @placeholder into mobile web payments.