Verizon Excludes Google Wallet Support from Galaxy Nexus

Verizon has confirmed that Google’s Wallet mobile wallet support will be excluded from the forthcoming Galaxy Nexus flagship Android smartphone. In separate statements made to the press today clarifying the situation, Verizon explains its side of the story:

“Recent reports that Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on our devices are false. Verizon does not block applications.

Google Wallet is different from other widely-available m-commerce services. Google Wallet does not simply access the operating system and basic hardware of our phones like thousands of other applications. Instead, in order to work as architected by Google, Google Wallet needs to be integrated into a new, secure and proprietary hardware element in our phones.

We are continuing our commercial discussions with Google on this issue.”

As Verizon supports the other major mobile payment initiative known as ISIS, the exclusion of Google Wallet, should be seen as a given, knowing that service is currently supported by rival Sprint, with more carriers expected to sign on in the future.

However, the additional detail that the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus would have to be modified to support Google Wallet is erroneous, as the hardware support is built-into the phone at the chipset and NFC chip level, but what Verizon more than likely meant to say is that its version would not support the SIM-based security element that the international 3G version currently ships with and opting for another hardware-based security element that could still allow Verizon’s version to fully support NFC services in the future.

What remains to be seen is if Google Wallet will still be able to run on the Verizon version of the Galaxy Nexus with the exclusion as it stands. With the phone slated to launch later this week, this latest news will be sure to affect those that expected to use Google Wallet without issue. While the phone is billed as a Nexus device, more and more details have surfaced in recent weeks that have confirmed Verizon’s direct involvement in the development of its version instead of strictly adhering to Google’s reference design such as the inclusion of Verizon branded apps.