Google allows users to send money via Gmail

More news from Google's I/O Developer's Conference: the internet giant has introduced a new dollar-sign icon for Gmail attachments.

By clicking the icon users can transfer money via Google Wallet. Credit and debit cards can be used for a fee of 2.9 per cent per transaction.

Google maintains the transactions are encrypted and stored on secure servers. Transactions are also monitored to stop any fraudulent activity. 

Introduced in 2011, Google Wallet has still yet to go mainstream. This is due to consumer resistance to mobile-based transactions, but also because of a lack of awareness and retail deployment.