Google Checkout was launched in the U.S. on June 28, 2006 to provide a fast and secure online shopping option. It was offered in the U.K. on April 13, 2007. Its goal was to simplify the process of ordering and paying for online purchases. With shipping and credit/debit card information stored in Google’s database, users can shop at participating merchant sites and check out with a single click. Google checkout also provides purchase and fraud protection and a handy tracking page where users can see all purchases on one page, track them and see their status and history.

An advantage of Google Checkout is that credit card numbers aren’t shared with merchants, and users can choose whether or not their email address is shared. The only information provided is that which is essential to the transaction, like the shipping address. This confidentiality is valuable both for users, who feel more confident that their information is secure, and merchants who increase their sales with an easier and more secure buying process.

The tracking page keeps records of all purchases so there’s no need to remember user names and passwords or even the name of the company. Contact information for the sellers along with purchase histories is included for quick access. This is also a benefit for both the buyer and the merchants, with merchants increasing repeat sales.

There was some early speculation that Google was creating the Checkout service to compete with PayPal. Google Checkout does not allow funds to be stored or person to person transactions, however. The focus is on facilitating one-time payments to be made from a consumer to a merchant.

Soon after Google Checkout was introduced, there was controversy over the fact that Ebay, Paypal’s parent company, added Google Checkout to its list of banned payment methods. Ebay statements at the time claimed it was due to Google Checkout being new and unproven.

Categories: Glossary
Tags: Google Checkout