Les Jones

E-commerce > Google Checkout - No Processing Fees Till End of 2007

I just got this email from Google. (Google Checkout is their PayPal-like payment service.)

Beginning January 1, 2008, when you use Google Checkout™ to process your sales, you'll only be charged a low 2% + $0.20 per transaction. With Google Checkout, there are no monthly, setup, or gateway service fees. These standard, non-promotional fees may be updated from time to time.

I haven't paid enough attention to Google Checkout, but this is interesting. What they're talking about here is their credit card merchant fees. Those are the fees that credit card processors charge to stores and merchants when customers use a credit card. They typically run 2-4% depending on the card and the merchant's volume and chargeback rate. Eliminating that fee for even a fraction of customers could be a nice savings over the course of a year.

Starting January 1, 2008, merchant fees resume, but there are savings if you use Google Adwords, and who doesn't if you sell online?

Speaking of which, I noticed the other week that Adwords sometimes indicate which advertisers offer Google Checkout. It seems to be off and on right now, but I'd predict it's going to become a powerful incentive to sign up for Google Checkout once it becomes popular (and everything Google touches these days is turning to gold).