Citing sources familiar with the program, the Wall Street Journal reports today that Google Inc. is teaming with MasterCard Inc. and Citigroup Inc. to introduce a contactless payment method using smartphones and tablets to pay for purchases at the point of sale. The program would use support for near field communications (NFC) technologies built in to devices running Google’s Android mobile operating system.

According to the article, the program is expected to launch as early as this year.

The program would allow consumers carrying Citigroup-issued credit and debit cards with the MasterCard logo to use an application on their Android devices to pay for purchases with a simple wave or tap on NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminals.

According to the article, Google would not receive any revenue from processing the transactions but would offer data derived from transactions to retailers as a part of its local search advertising services, providing them with valuable customer information. Retailers would be able to offer coupons and discounts to attract customers through the program, as well as track search advertising efforts all the way through the point of purchase.

VeriFone Systems Inc., a manufacturer of POS terminals, is also involved in the project. For its part, VeriFone would make more NFC-enabled terminals available for retailers.

According to the Journal, Google would expand its program to other issuers and card brands if the effort with MasterCard and Citigroup is successful.