LG May Challenge Apple, Samsung and Android in Mobile Payments

Consumers may not be adopting contactless mobile payments in droves, the tech companies behind the world's most popular smartphones are piling on the mobile wallet bandwagon.

One of the latest entrants could be LG Electronics, maker of the Nexus 5X, one of Google's newest flagship smartphones. LG is plotting a potential mobile payment product called GPay, potentially joining a market that already includes heavy hitters like Apple, Samsung and Google/Android.

A filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office indicates that LG Electronics wants to trademark the name "GPay" for smartwatches and mobile devices. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based LG Electronics did not return a request for comment.

GPay was also the name of an old Google patent filing for a text-based payment system that never came to market, and was likely supplanted by Google Checkout, another Google payment initiative. Google did not return a request for comment.

If LG Electronics does launch a contactless payment product, it would join Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay (Google's successor to Google Wallet and Google Checkout).

These companies are chasing a contactless payment market that's expected to be large someday, though consumers have not yet substantially adopted mobile payments.