Google Launches PayPal Rival

Google Checkout Launched

Roy van Rijn informs us that Google's new online payment system is now online. "Under the name Checkout, the venture offers an incorporated manner to search, advertise and pay. If you buy something on Checkout, 2% and $0.20 go to Google. Paypal, the biggest competitor uses 1,9% and $0,30. Analysts compare Google/Paypal to for example Visa/Mastercard living peacefully together, while others predict the end of Paypal." W3K adds "You can use your Google account to store an unlimited number of credit cards and addresses. The service allows you to track all your orders and shipping in one place," and adds a link to a quick video tour.

paypal's safe as long as it has a monopoly at eBay

[joe545]

No matter how much I dislike PayPal, I'm forced to use it if I want to buy something from eBay. Until GoogleCheckout tries to break PayPal's monopoly at eBay (it surely can't be legal) I can't see the demise of PayPal happening. This isn't the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning.

Ebay?

[dohcvtec]

So, can it be used as a method of payment for Ebay auctions and other person-to-person transactions?

And...

I don't think PayPal will be going away anytime soon. PayPal's business is driven by Ebay, and PayPal is part of Ebay.

Re:paypal's safe as long as it has a monopoly at e

[Threni]

> No matter how much I dislike PayPal, I'm forced to use it if I want to buy something from eBay

I think, with this and other online payment systems, you won't actually need to use eBay for much longer. The combination of eBays shocking lack of regard for blatant scams, their stock - ineffectual and often incorrect or irrelevant - replies to complaints, and the way they push their inherently unsafe PayPal* system has put me off using them.

*When is the money mine? As a seller I mean? For how long afterwards can someone just take the money out of my account? How have PayPal managed to piss off so many people so quickly?

Re:End of Paypal ?

[CastrTroy]

Just like GMail meant the end of Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and the myriad of other online mail services. And how Google Maps meant the end of Mapquest andd MS Maps (??). I know that Google has created some welcome competition to many online services, forcing them to improve their offerings, but it hasn't completely killed the competition. Most people I know haven't switched from their current providers. However, I'm sure they would have if Hotmail stuck to 2MB, and Mapquest didn't touch their interface. I'm happy google's here, because it makes everyone else have to try harder. Let's hope the same happens to E-Bay. They haven't changed their interface since their inception.

Interconnected services

[SolitaryMan]

OK, I acknoledge that I'm paranoid, but the thing that makes me nervous about google services is that thay use single account for all purposes. This not only allows to keep track of my whole life, but also allows a person, who hijacks my email account, take control over my mail, internet messenger (IM was used for several famous frauds in Russia), and now money directly!

Re:Huh?

[Silver Sloth]

Kinda looks pretentious,

It doesn't look pretentious if you're European, it looks normal. There is a world outside the evil empire! I will, however, agree that one shouldn't mix standards.

Differing Features

[jascat]

I didn't look into it very hard, but it seems like Paypal has same major features that Google Checkout doesn't have; direct access to bank accounts and person to person transfers. I have used direct transfers several times for transfering money between family members. We are all pretty lazy and it has become easier to use Paypal than it is to write a check and put it in the mail. Also, Paypal seems to be more convenient to the casual seller on Ebay. Also, what about the folks on sites like Rent-a-coder that like to get paid through Paypal. I can see how they would compete on the business side, but for regular joe's, Paypal is still the answer.

Google Checkout !Paypal

[d3bruts1d]

If by "Google launches PayPal Rival" you mean, "Google launches a service for merchants to process credit cards". Then yes, this is a PayPal rival. This service does not allow you to transfer money from person-to-person, nor does it allow you to pay by check, bank draft, etc.

So if they want to be banks...

[Anonymous Brave Guy]

Personally, you won't find me going near most of the services offered by the likes of Paypal and now Google until organisations that are acting like banks or credit companies are regulated like them as well. My high street bank and credit card have pretty crappy customer service at times, but compared to some of the things Paypal's been accused off, the other guys are saints.

Re:monopoly at eBay

[andrewman327]

Most people have no idea what a money order is, although they are sometimes the best means of paying on EBay and cost less than . People seem to think that they can only pay through PayPal.

Re:Huh?

[bWareiWare.co.uk]

Odd, my maths says Google would be cheeper for anything under $100.

Buy why O' why no micropayments, wake me up when they have a 10% + $0 option.

Re:NYT article

[alexmin]

Probably the last thing I want is to "use payment and shipping information they keep on file with Google" (quote from TFA). Keep my info in vast searchable financial database which makes it attractive to black hats and goverment?

No thanks , I'd prefer to spend a minute to create one-off credit card number each time I shop.

Re:End of Paypal ?

[WindBourne]

Well, killing an email service is very difficult. Nobody wants to go through the hassle of sending a new e-mail address to everybody they know. So it is expecte that there would be a very slow change on this front.

But changing their mapping service as well as who they pay through, that is a whole other issue. Mapquest and MSN maps have been losing business. In light of the continual growth of the net, that is very telling. I would guess that Google is not going to kill off paypal tomorrow or over the next 10 years. But I would also bet that paypal will lose more than half of their business within five years and continue a downward trend unless they make a major change. Since ebay has taken over paypal, they have abused stores as well as users. Their attitude may start to change back to what it was.

Re:End of Paypal ?

[grapeape]

Big difference between paypal vs google and the competing mail services. People have had a choice for years. No one complains about free email its reliable, its there, its ubiquitous. What irritates people with Paypal is the rather random enforcement of buyer and seller protection coupled with their stranglehold on ebay that pretty much makes any other method of payment impossible. After paying listing fees, final value fees, paypal fees, extra paypal fees if you want to be able to take credit cards, and dealing with buyers protection which is in my experience used in scam attempts as much as in real disputes, the ebay/paypal racket is hardly a bargain.

After all that, I still use it on occasion because I have no choice, thats the difference.

Re:New Revenue Streams Trend to Conservatism

[Dannon]

How do you reach this conclusion, that many revenue streams==conservatism==entrenched attitudes?

Take the New York Times, for example. Revenue from advertising, classifieds, subscriptions, sidewalk sales, and now, subscription services on their web site.

I would also be inclined to say that they've got an "entrenched" attitude. Government regulations on the news media are just fine, even welcome, as long as they don't apply to the printing press media. Also, they managed to wrangle the NY city government into eminent-domaining a fine piece of property for their new HQ.

But I would definitely not call their politics "conservative", not by a long shot.

It's the people that make the company. As long as Google continues to hire people that share the views of its original managers, you need not fear the doom of a change in politics.

And I'd put to you that it's not either conservatism or liberalism that needs to be feared, but rather, lobbyistism. And I think it's just a bit late [slashdot.org] for that.

Re:End of Paypal ?

[tomhudson]

The difference between 1.9% + 30 cents (ebay) and 2.0% + 20 cents (google) might not strike you as significant, but google now works out to be cheaper for all sales under $100.00

Don't think that the "ebay power sellers" aren't keenly aware of the difference. They know how ebay nickel-and-dimes them to death, and if they can save a few dollars a week AND stick it to ebay, they will.

Example - item at $10.00

eBay: 49 cents, google:40 cents. Difference: 9 cents.

Do 100/week, and over the course of a year you're looking at $468.00 in savings ...

GTip, GMicropay ?

[mjpg]

With a decent micropayment system Google could really change the web. It's a shame this is not it. It's likely Google could blend micropayments into sites pretty well with their AJAX skills - and their infrastructure should mean that the implementation cost was marginal (for them). And search could benefit. A micropayment is a pretty good vote for a site.

$10 chargeback risk for sellers.

[mwvdlee]

I was interested in this as a seller, but I'm somewhat wary of the $10 chargeback cost they charge the seller if a buyer either ask refund or is just defrauding you.
Typically this means that if a seller is the victim of fraud, (s)he loses the item sold AND has to pay $10 because of it.
Using this for "micro"-payments of, say, $5, would be pretty dangerous considering the risk of fraud.
I've been selling through another service for years now and thus have some indication of the amount of fraud happening on the internet. I may still try google CheckOut, but probably only for $10+ payments so valid orders may cover the risk of fraudulent ones.

Besides, the service is only available in the U.S.A. anyway, so I'd have to wait for it. Odd, considering AdWords and AdSense are available pretty much worldwide.

Sticking with Paypal...

[i_want_you_to_throw_]

I dig Google, man do I ever but I think I have reached my limit as to how tightly I integrate myself with Google, inc. Google IS a publicly traded company and it's only a matter of time before "Do no evil"(tm) becomes "We do less evil than everyone else" (tm). Why? Because Google is publicly traded and their only real obligation is to their stockholders. No matter of hipster-doofus-coolness culture trumps that. Just look at Apple...

They have transitioned themselved from being cool to being fairly evil (sweatshops for iPod manufacture, closing off the Darwin source)

Besides do you think for one second that eBay will make integrating auctions easy with Google? Of course not....

Paypal does suck but all of these services do and odds are Google's will too.

Re:Not only that

[ZorinLynx]

I wonder why Google and Paypal don't want porn to be sold using their service.

Just think of the huge market they're abandoning; if porn sites could use paypal or google for payment, many more folks might be willing to to pay for porn since they won't be giving their credit card info to seedy companies!

But for some odd reason they forbid it. Strange...

-Z

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Money transfers?

[Ilgaz]

Recently stuff offered to USA and Canada only has started bothering people as they see it as a way of "We don't give a f to you" attitude.

For example I know it is not only Apple to blame but iTunes Greece store existing and there is no iTunes Turkey store while countries has similar markets (wonder where enemy brothers term come from?) makes you think like "Oh well, Apple doesn't give a heck to our country" and get eMusic.com subscription.

Same goes for Rhapsody of Real Networks.; You see story on Slashdot, immediately click the URL with a list of rare stuff you have in your mind, you see "Available to USA only". It is like you go to a store and a bodyguard pushes you out because where you live.

I hope I could explain the background of "Why not available to my country?!" types of postings a bit.

btw, I know it is RIAA to blame for those "music" stores.

Re:End of Paypal ?

[CastrTroy]

Everybody had a problem with Hotmail before GMail came around. But they thought it was the only service available, and they needed the account anyway to use MSN (I know you can sign up for MSN with another email address, but it's really hard to find that site). Hotmail still has terrible spam filtration (blacklisting everyone except your contacts is not spam filtration), and thankfully, they've gone up from their original 2MB of storage. People used Hotmail because it was there, but I don't think that many people liked it. They were all looking for a change, but It's hard to switch email addresses.

Re:1,9% and $0,30 ?

[Drew-NC]

That is 100% correct. I run a small web store and we use PayPal to process orders. We are paying 2.9% + $.30 per transaction. I would love to switch to google, but I see one issue. With PayPal people can place orders on my site, pay with a credit card, and not have a PayPal account. PayPal just processes the card. When google will let my customers pay without having a google account I will switch.

Re:Paypal has one thing on google...

[voice_of_all_reason]

Except they can confiscate your money at any time for violating their terms of service. So liquid it might just slip through your fingers...

Re:End of Paypal ?

[kabocox]

Since ebay has taken over paypal, they have abused stores as well as users. Their attitude may start to change back to what it was.

I'm confused why people ever really use PayPal in the first place. Oh yes because it's "easy." I wouldn't mind Google, MS, or heck even SGI to go into this. My thing is that they should start off as declaring themselves as doing banking and being properly regulated. I want PayPal to die a swift death just because of that. PayPal is doing banking and should be regulated as such. I honestly think that MS, Google, or some other IT company should produce a set of software that makes it as easy as using PayPal for your existing bank to do business over the internet. The big PayPal killer will be when my 4+ local city banks can do business with each other and your local banks as easily as PayPal transactions happen.

Re:End of Paypal ?

[tomhudson]

You, like some other posters, seem to think that PayPal's prices are fixed in stone forever.

Don't put words in my mouth - I never said that. Here's the reality ...

1. finally, paypal has some real competition
2. a lot of people would pay more to switch from paypal
3. this will shrink ebay's customer base no matter what, so they're going to be hit with both lower demand and lower prices
4. for google, on the other hand, their market share can only grow - and they've got tie-ins to a lot more stuff than ebay

Then there's the whole regulatory issue - ebay has had to make deals with regulators in almost 20 states ... google will just go out and BUY a bank. Then they'll issue their own credit cards, etc.

Re:Need more payment options!

[Software]

I disagree. From a US perspective, Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover have approximately 100% penetration. OK, there's a few people (privacy nuts, mostly -- no offense) who don't have a CC, but you're far more likely to find someone without a bank account than you are to find someone without one of these credit card accounts. I've never heard of Delta, Maestro, Visa Electron, or Solo.

A bank account may be more useful for sellers (how exactly do you add money to your Visa account, anyway?), but I don't know why a buyer would prefer to have eBay withdraw from a bank account. I know people can go both ways, so to speak, but for people who mostly buy, I think Checkout is fine.

Re:1,9% and $0,30 ?

[Displaced Cajun]

ALso, The only way you can accept money from Google is to either purchase ads for your web site, OR sell your item directly via google's interface. At least that is how I see it.

Not having a google account to accept purchase is a big problem.

Re:End of Paypal ?

[WindBourne]

Well, I would be shocked if any of them die. Just because they are losing business does not mean that either is in danger of dieing. The problem is that they did not improve. Of course, now that MS live is out and with a similiar interface to Google, it will probably gain some traction. As to the interstate exit numbers, please send in a request. I no longer own (and very rarely use) a printer, so I have never noticed that. That would be helpful.

Re:All you need to know

[Dun Malg]

When's the last time you called a credit card processor to resolve a disputed charge? You deal with the card issuer. This is no different from any other card processor agreement. Get a grip.

Re:End of Paypal ?

[TheRaven64]

The thing people like about PayPal is it lets you pay with a credit card. If I buy something using PayPal with a credit card and I don't receive it then one email to my credit card company will see the money returned. I could just as easily send money from my Internet banking site, but then I don't get the buyer protection.

The US, sadly, has one of the most backwards banking systems I have ever had the misfortune to do business with. Most US banks seem to regard sending money by telegraph as a horrible new-fangled concept, while banks in the EU and Japan have been allowing customers to do it for free for well over a decade. I have two UK bank accounts and one US account. The amount of stuff the US bank seems to think they can get away with charging me for is staggering; they even charge for doing a balance enquiry at a cash machine!

One again, analysts know sh*t in computing...

[pierreact]

and prove it !

Analysts compare Google/Paypal to for example Visa/Mastercard living peacefully together, while others predict the end of Paypal.

Any one of you ever compared Visa/Mastercard ? I asked around me after reading this to some people around... a card is a card, as long it works...

A site like paypal is different it's more like a bank you choose from, people will choose on this differently, an other thing is abot security, do you feel safe with paypal ? I don't. So much that i certainly will close my paypal account (There's years i want to close it but they don't let me) and go to google.

Is google more secure ? I don't know, but the fact is i never seen google down.

Re:Interconnected services

[Milo_oliM]

I agree, perhaps a pin in addition to the password would suffice. So that when you want to access another service, especially checkout, it would require a little verification that it is still you on the computer. This adds a little bit of insulation to the account, and wouldn't be too much of a burden.

Your wrong about why...

[Serapth]

Paypal isnt so much the most popular service because it's "easy"

Many other services are just as easy to use as Paypal. No the biggest reasons are:
- Its "the brand" so far as online payments go. Most people use paypal, so other people get brought in my default.
- Its trusted. For online payments, this is a HUGE deal.
- Its cheap. Really, look at what people have to pay for online banking. If you want to setup an e-commerce website, alot of payment gateways charge a monthly fee, then take a huge percentage of your revinue. Plus, payout rates ( how fast you get your cash )are much higher with Paypal then most gateways.
- It acts as a credit card proxy, so if you have a MC or Visa, you can pay with Paypal without the fear of giving out your credit card number.
- Its in bed with eBay. Alot of peoples first need for a payment service is because they bought something on eBay. Once they have an eBay account, if they buy something else online, why sign up for a different service when the one you use already works?

So, there are many reasons beyond "it's easy" that Paypal is popular.

Re:NYT article

[Paradise Pete]

Face it, our lives are for the most part not like that of James Bond. We're dull.

Sure, you're dull right up until the moment you're not. And then you're defenseless. There is an old saying in Chess - the threat is better than the execution. Meaning that as long as your opponent has the power to do something, you have to expend your efforts in worrying about it and preventing it rather than doing what you'd like to do. If all of your "secrets" are laid bare at the whim of someone in power then you are oppressed - even if nothing actually happens to you. And everybody has secrets, especially when they can be skillfully twisted to present a certain picture.

The economics of it

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

Who pays depends on the slope of the demand curve, which is a fancy way of saying whether the merchants can raise prices without losing business.

Put a 50% tax on scrub brushes, and the price won't go up because no seller would risk having all his customers buy mops instead. Put a 50% tax on gasoline, and the sellers will cheerfully pass it along in full.

In general the burden of a tax gets split between seller and buyer in a ratio that depends on how much the market will bear.

Re:Interconnected services

[mrchaotica]

You do if you pay attention to Google's Terms of Service.

Re:Interconnected services

[dave1212]

You know that you don't have to sign up for all these services under the same account, right?

Only if you want to be legal about it. When it comes to my cash, I prefer to do stuff above the table.

Google's TOS doesn't allow multiple accounts.

Re:1,9% and $0,30 ?

[AK Marc]

When google will let my customers pay without having a google account I will switch.

I don't understand "switch." You make it sound like an either/or decision. Can't you offer both? "If you have a Google Checkout account, go here, if you don't, go to PayPal - Thanks and come again." That way, every time someone does use Google, you'll save .9% and when they don't, you'll see no difference. It will have two benefits - you'll save the .9% immediately, and you'll be encouraging people to find out about Google so that more people will use it in the future.