Google on Tuesday confirmed that it has acquired mobile payment company Zetawire, a Canadian company that allows consumers to make payments on their smartphones using near field communications (NFC) technology.

Google confirmed the purchase - which happened in August - but declined to provide any additional details about the acquisition.

NFC is a short-range wireless protocol that requires an embedded chip and a separate reader-writer, which can program or read the contents of the chip. NFC has been used in wireless payment plans, and AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile teamed with Discover to offer ISIS, an NFC-based mobile payment technology that was launched last month.

The new Android-based Nexus S phone also supports NFC, which is one of the key features in Google's new Gingerbread operating system.

According to Ben Kolada, an analyst with the 451 Group, not much is known about Zetawire, apart from a U.S. patent it holds. He also said that Google actually purchased the Toronto-based company in August.

Kolada said that "the patent provides for mobile banking, advertising, identity management, credit card and mobile coupon transaction processing." It's technology that would take away the need for a credit card and allow a consumer to buy items using his or her smartphone.

Kolada describes the capability as a "virtual wallet," which is fitting, considering he said Zetawire also owns the trademark for the name Walleto.

In a September quarterly report, Google said that it made 37 acquisitions totaling $626 million in the first nine months of 2010. Information about 26 of these companies has been made public.

Earlier this month, reports were circulating that Google would buy discount site Groupon for between $5 and $6 billion, and that it would be Google's biggest transaction to date. However, negotiations dissolved and the deal didn't happen.