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Google to Test PayPal Rival

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the i'll-gbuy-that-for-a-dollar dept.

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "Google is set to introduce a test version of its GBuy online-payment service as early as this week, presaging a shake-up in the online-payments market now dominated by eBay's PayPal, the Wall Street Journal reports. From the article: 'Here is how the service will work: Consumers who search for items like "shoes" or "strollers" on Google's search site will see text ads with a symbol or icon designating advertisers that accept GBuy payments. Shoppers normally would have clicked on an ad and been linked to that merchant's Web site. Now, while they will still be linked to the merchant's site, they will go through a different checkout process integrated with Google if they choose GBuy for their transaction. Details of the service could still change before Google's official GBuy announcement.'"

2 of 268 comments (clear)

  1. Re:God for bid it be regulated by L0neW0lf · · Score: 5, Informative

    Why is it so impossible to have paypal or other online bill pay regulated. I mean is it that hard to make paypal a real bank so they are held accountable.

    PayPal doesn't WANT to be a bank, and unless they apply to become one, they won't be held to the same standards as one. They WANT to be an "online payment processing service", which exempts them from FDIC (in the current unlikely chance they fold, you lose any money stored there rather than getting up to $100k back like a bank) and from lots of rules and oversight that they don't want to do, because this way they can go on shafting those who use the service. As long as they're the only game in town, you get to play by their rules.

    There's a reason I no longer take PayPal on Ebay: see http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2006/3/6/8326/ 75161

    --

    Never look down your nose at others. Someday, someone is bound to see your boogers.
  2. The article DOES tell about pricing. by mlantz7 · · Score: 3, Informative

    The article does discuss pricing and Google's strategy here. Pretty smart if you ask me...

        "Google plans to charge merchants a 2.2% commission on a sale, plus 30 cents per transaction using its payment service...That is higher than Pay-Pal's lowest published rate of a 1.9% commission plus 30 cents per transaction.

        "Google's rate doesn't include the discount pricing that the company will give to merchants participating in its AdWords advertising program...Merchants who spend money on Google's ad program could get the cost of payment processing through Google dropped to nothing...

        "To attract consumers, Google plans to offer an unspecified rebate to people who complete online purchases using GBuy."