As Google shifts its digital wallet strategy this week, there is a push to pay attention to the most pressing news: Now, you can place any card in the search engine's cloud-based card carrier.
This takes away choice from banks, and places consumers in the driving seat when deciding whether or not to use Google Wallet.
Still, the way the company handles transactions has fundamentally changed. The Cupertino company now acts like PayPal. It has become a merchant of record. Google sits in the middle of its Wallet transactions, rather than just passing through plastic credentials to an NFC enabled smartphone.