Posted by Sir Four at 11:31pm Sep 10 '09Google is planning to roll out a system of micropayments within the next year
This is HUGE. Every internet player thus far who has tried this has gone down in flames. But if it can be done, Google is the company to do it.
For this not to fail it must be dead-simple for users--no bouncing around through login screens and crap. And it must be available to a critical mass of people in order to have a hope of becoming an internet norm. (how many people use Google Checkout?)
This is HUGE. Every internet player thus far who has tried this has gone down in flames. But if it can be done, Google is the company to do it.
The Google document, which was first publicized by the Nieman Journalism Lab, indicates that the micropayment system will be an extension of Google Checkout, a payment system that Google rolled out in 2006 and positioned as a competitor to eBay's PayPal service, the leading system for online payments.
"While currently in the early planning stages, micropayments will be a payment vehicle available to both Google and non-Google properties within the next year," Google wrote. "The idea is to allow viable payments of a penny to several dollars by aggregating purchases across merchants and over time."
For this not to fail it must be dead-simple for users--no bouncing around through login screens and crap. And it must be available to a critical mass of people in order to have a hope of becoming an internet norm. (how many people use Google Checkout?)
UPDATE - Sir Four