Load Google Wallet onto Verizon's Galaxy S III with this new hack

A pair of smartphone enthusiasts have successfully loaded Google Wallet on a Samsung Galaxy S III from Verizon, the first ever to do so. Mike Beauchamp and Dustin Evans loaded the app onto the phone before visiting McDonalds to give it a test run, all on video of course.

The clip shows the app running on the phone and how it is used to pay for a breakfast sandwich at the fast food chain during a recent trip to Kansas City to check out Google Fiber. The video doesn’t specifically reveal how to get the app onto the phone but XDA forums have documented the process and since its posting, Evans has also published a guide on his Google+ account.

Essentially you will need to root your phone and know a good bit about code and editing. There’s a zip that’s available for download that includes a tweaked Google Wallet app that needs uploading as well.

Google Wallet doesn’t come as a native app on the Verizon version of the Galaxy S II because the carrier is working on their own mobile payment system called Isis. The project, announced in November 2010, is a joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon that also uses NFC technology much like Google Wallet. The project is said to begin trials in Salt Lake City and Austin this summer.

If you can’t wait for Verizon’s own app or until they ink a licensing deal with the search giant, this new hack will allow you to get into the mobile payment scene right now.