Google launches online payment service

From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Google has today launched its foray into the world online payment processing with Google Checkout. This is considered by many to be a rival to the payment giant PayPal, owned by eBay. This service is currently only available to U.S. residents.

Google has created the service in a similar way to PayPal. There are two types of Google Checkout account, Buyer and Seller. Only a Seller account can receive payments through the service, a Buyer account can only make payments. This is tied in very closely with the Google Adwords service - adverts selling items can now display a small shopping cart icon - which indicates that the advertiser accepts Google Checkout as a method of payment.

The selling rate is also closely tied in with the Google AdWords service. Other online payment services generally charge a set percentage per transaction, whereas Google Checkout credits you with a certain amount of "free transactions" when you purchase Google AdWords (For every US $1 spent on AdWords, US $10 in sales can be processed at no charge) - or a rate of 2% plus US $0.20 if the Seller is not a Google Adwords subscriber. There are no charges associated with Buyer Accounts.

Currently, Google Checkout only accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover Credit Cards for inclusion on a buyer's or seller's account. They also offer a special deal for users of a Citicard credit card - US $5 (or 1000 ThankYou^sm Points) for signing up. Google has announced its' intentions to "to make the service available to merchants internationally" in the near future.

Related news

• "Google planning PayPal rival". Wikinews, June 20, 2005

Sources

• "Google Checkout Opens for Business". Google, Inc., 29th June 2006

External links

• Google Checkout
  

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