Google Brings Speedy Online Payments to PC and Mobile

Google Brings Speedy Online Checkout to PC and Mobile

Google today launched Google Payments, a new online checkout service for PC and mobile.

“Starting today you can now speed through online checkout on many of your favorite apps and websites with a few quick clicks,” Google vice president Pali Bhat writes. “When you pay with Google, you can use any of the credit or debit cards you’ve added to your Google account. Google sends the merchant your payment info and shipping address using the information from your account, no typing required. Then, the merchant will handle all the details just like any other purchase.”

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Google Payments works in apps and on the web in Android and on the web on PC/Mac. The idea here is that you’ve associated various payment methods with your Google account—through Android Pay or one of Google’s web services—and can then use that information to complete purchases more quickly at participating e-retailers.

That “participating” bit is the rub, I suspect. Google is touting a number of high-profile retailer partners who have signed-on for Google Payments, though most of them are apparently restaurants and/or food delivery services or travel-related businesses like AirBNB and Kayak. Google has also partnered with a few payment providers, though it promises more soon.

What’s unclear is how widespread Google Payments available is at launch: The Google blog post notes services from the U.S. and UK, but doesn’t specify where this service works exactly. But the APIs behind Google Payments are available globally, so it’s possible that the service is launching globally too.

Also, Google Payments requires Chrome on PC/Mac (and mobile) for now, but Google says it is working to bring this service to other web browsers too.

 

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Conversation 13 comments

  • jrickel96

    23 October, 2017 - 8:52 am

    <p>Here's a major problem for Google: Few trust them with this information. They know Google only does this to get even more data on them to push ads because that is the only way they make money. Google does not have a good reputation. People just feel they have no other option. </p>

    • JacobTheDev

      Premium Member
      23 October, 2017 - 9:09 am

      <blockquote><a href="#209621"><em>In reply to jrickel96:</em></a></blockquote><p>I really don't think the majority of "normal" people have an issue with giving Google their payment information; there's over 1 billion Android devices in the world, and the majority of those use Google Play, meaning they most likely have already provided this information to Google.</p>

      • jrickel96

        24 October, 2017 - 8:41 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#209625"><em>In reply to Jacob-Bearce:</em></a></blockquote><p>Most people in the world use carrier billing and Google Play sells very little considering the install base. </p><p><br></p><p>No one uses Android Pay statistically. PayPal is much bigger for online payment, despite Google's best efforts. Apple Pay is much, much larger. </p><p><br></p><p>A majority of Google Play accounts have no payment info in them. It's actually a supermajority. Google will tell you when you submit an app with any kind of microtransaction or price attached to not expect to make much of anything. Their rate of paid apps is in the 5% range. Seriously. </p>

    • Usman

      Premium Member
      23 October, 2017 - 9:10 am

      <blockquote><a href="#209621"><em>In reply to jrickel96:</em></a></blockquote><p>People do trust them with this information, how else do you make purchases via the play store.</p><p><br></p><p>It's basically an evolution of google checkout. The start-up/hacker/open source dev and tech community trust Amazon, Google and Apple more than they trust Microsoft.</p>

      • Care

        Premium Member
        23 October, 2017 - 10:05 am

        <blockquote><a href="#209627"><em>In reply to Usman:</em></a></blockquote><p>I don't necessarily disagree with you, but my Google Play purchases go through my carrier.</p>

      • jrickel96

        24 October, 2017 - 8:31 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#209627"><em>In reply to Usman:</em></a></blockquote><p>Very few people purchase anything in the Play Store. We publish things there and track it. </p><p><br></p><p>Very few people use Google Assistant.</p><p><br></p><p>Very few people use Android Pay.</p><p><br></p><p>Google's commercial side is a tale of utter failure. Everything Google does, they fail at. The only thing they have succeeded at is getting information to effectively push ads. They use any purchases you make as data to push ads to you. 95% of their revenue comes from this.</p><p><br></p><p>No Google launch that they have tried has developed another good profitable stream. Nothing. Google is living off of one thing alone and trying desperately to make other things stick.</p><p><br></p><p>Apple Pay is far more successful just as the App Store is. Just as the Windows Store has more paying customers than Google Play does. Tracking shows their music, movies, everything does very badly. </p><p><br></p><p>Again, they are not trusted for much beyond search. Android phones are greatly disliked but used because there are no real alternatives except the iPhone. People do have some brand loyalty to OEMs like Samsung.</p><p><br></p><p>Google also still faces the problem of declining per ad revenue, meaning they need to find ways to push more ads to make money.</p><p><br></p><p>And that's what this is all about. Tracking your purchasing data to push ads, be they new credit card offers, ads about things you like to buy, etc.</p><p><br></p><p>Because that's all Google is. An advertising company that comes out with products to get data from you and your company so they can sell ad space. Any major paradigm shift there and their revenue stream dries up and they're left with nothing.</p>

      • jrickel96

        24 October, 2017 - 8:37 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#209627"><em>In reply to Usman:</em></a></blockquote><p>Usman, no one buys anything in the Play Store. The Windows Store does more transactions. I have dev data on this one. People download a ton of free apps, but as a percentage of users, the Play Store has the tiniest monetization rate of any of these stores BY FAR. Sure, some people do, but not many in relation to the install base. iOS users have far fewer installs and spend a lot more money overall in the App Store. Windows Store sells more as well. Playstation and Xbox also sell more in their digital stores. Amazon Kindle sells a lot more $$$ wise through their e-readers and online. </p><p><br></p><p>Google Play only exists to give Android something and Android only is successful because no one else has been able to get anything off the ground – and it only exists for Google to funnel info to them to push ads. </p><p><br></p><p>And that is the whole reason Google Play exists in reality. To track what you download so you can get ads pushed and Google can make money the only way they know how. All they are is an ad company. That's it. Look at their quarterlies. Everything they do is about pushing ads more effectively. </p>

  • maethorechannen

    Premium Member
    23 October, 2017 - 9:39 am

    <p>What exactly is new here? I was able to buy stuff with the card linked to my google account 9 years ago (I just checked – I bought a hard drive for my old Series 1 UK Tivo with "Google Checkout" 9 years ago).</p>

  • conan007

    23 October, 2017 - 10:46 am

    <p>What does this do that PayPal and Amazon Payment cannot?</p>

  • Daekar

    23 October, 2017 - 12:00 pm

    <p>So… why would I use Google for this again? If you're going to insert evil middlemen into your transactions, Paypal and the credit card company is quite enough. There is no reason to go full Google, they're already eating the world.</p>

  • Jason Honingford

    23 October, 2017 - 12:26 pm

    <p>Does it support all banks? Google Wallet never supported any of the credit cards I use.</p>

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