Google to Wallet users: Sorry. Here's $5
With rumors of Google rethinking its Google Wallet strategy due to lack of adoption, and ongoing stories about defections and reshuffling personnel, it seems the news about Google Wallet is a little grim these days. But Google is trying to do the right thing. A story from the Verge reported earlier this week that Google Wallet users found an extra $5 deposited to their prepaid accounts as token of apology for past security and provisioning issues.
The report said Google sent customers an email to explain:
"We are happy to announce that you can now add the Google Prepaid Card back to your wallet with the newest version of Google Wallet, and any funds that you previously had on the card should be restored, unless you contacted Money Network and asked for a refund of those funds. To add the Google Prepaid Card back, you will first need to update your Google Wallet application to the most recent version."
The issues began with a couple of security hiccups regarding the Google Wallet prepaid account. It turned out it wasn't 100 percent secure. To plug the hole, Google turned off provisioning of the prepaid accounts that are included in the Google Wallet while it worked on a fix. Even after the security issue was fixed, provisioning remained a pesky problem for many users.
Apparently everything is back in working order now, but the Verge reported the current version of Google Wallet is still presenting some odd behaviors.
For more stories on this issue, visit the Security research center.