Google checkout

Google checkout is a payment gateway offering by Google. For merchants, it offers easy integration and theoretically zero transaction cost if merchants spend 10% of sales money on Adwords. Without an adwords account, it costs 2% + 0.20 USD. This is close to or better than other offerings. It is totally free till January 1,2008.

It is available for merchants in US/UK only as of now but buyers from 140 countries can use Google checkout to buy products online.

These days, the most interesting page that you should read when using an google product is - privacy policy.

Sample this :

Transaction information - When you use Google Checkout to conduct a transaction, we collect information about each transaction, including the transaction amount, a description provided by the seller of the goods or services being purchased, the names of the seller and buyer, and the type of payment used.

Or this :

Google cookies - When you access a Google Checkout webpage, we send one or more cookies - a small file containing a string of characters - to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. We use cookies to improve the quality of our service by storing user preferences and tracking user trends. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. Please note that you will not be able to access Google Checkout if your cookies are disabled

Google has had skirmishes with privacy issues in US. I think the issue of privacy has to be seen in the context of how confidential information is used. Customized ads suited to your preferences might be welcome to most online shoppers but people , especially in US, do not want to share private info with a third party. This is something Google , as a brand, will have to manage properly given its motto of " Do No Evil".

If you overlook privacy concerns, Google checkout looks like an admirable product allowing small businesses to launch online efficiently and quickly. I am waiting for it to launch in India where its transaction costs will easily be the lowest and the google brand will hopefully convince more Indian buyers ( worried about fraud/security) to shop online.