With the rapid growing suite of mobile applications and services, Google (GOOG) has recently applied for a patent for a mobile payments service, which would permit the users to make payments at retail shops using their mobile phones. Using text messages, the system call “GPay” would confirm payments, debit the purchaser’s account, and credit the seller’s account.

At first it was filed in February 2006, but request was made public by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office only last week. Google by now has an online payment system called Google Checkout, opened last year. In May it released the mobile version of Google Checkout, which actually works only for online purchases.

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