Google Checkout

Yet another Google service bites the dust.  This one’s not as cut and dry as Google Reader, for instance, because some of the Google Checkout functionality will transfer to Google Wallet.

Merchants can continue to accept payments using Google Checkout until November 20, 2013.

• If you don’t have your own payment processing, you will need to transition to a different solution within six months. To make things easier, we’ve partnered with Braintree, Shopify and Freshbooks to offer you discounted migration options.

• If you are a U.S. merchant that does have payment processing, you can apply for Google Wallet Instant Buy, which offers a fast buying experience to Google Wallet shoppers.

At some point, Google’s brand is going to get tarnished by these closures. How am I going to feel comfortable getting behind a new Google product if I know there’s a more than 50% chance it will close? 
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Google has announced on their Commerce Blog this evening that they are now rolling Google Checkout into Wallet. Since Checkout’s focus was to simplify online checkouts, Wallet will now be rolling out to more places over the web including the Android Market, Google+ Games, YouTube, and even more Google sites.

Since both products have a similar goal, to simplify purchasing items, it makes sense for Google to roll the products together. For current Commerce users they will be able to setup a Wallet account when logging again, while merchants won’t have to make any changes. Wallet looks like its ready to roll for this Holiday season.

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A Peet’s Coffee in San Francisco (what happened to NYC?) is showing a Google Wallet logo beneath its original MasterCard PayPass NFC reader.

It appears that there is minimal upgrade to get Mastercard PayPass systems upgraded to be Google Wallet systems.  In fact, from the merchant standpoint, it may just be upgraded signage.

That’s good news for Google and its rollout plans.  PayPass locations are all over the place and Google wants to hit the ground running.

As of March 2011, more than 92 million MasterCard PayPass cards and devices have been issued for use at approximately 311,000 merchant locations worldwide, including new acceptance environments such as vending, taxis, tollbooths, transit, football/baseball stadiums and golfing events.
In addition to robust deployments at major merchants in the US such as McDonalds, 7-Eleven, CVS, Duane Reade, Sheetz, Hess, Wegmans, The Home Depot, Best Buy, Gulf Oil, Sports Authority, BJ’s, Meijer’s, Whataburger, Tim Horton’s, Shop-Rite, Foot Locker, Sunoco and BP.PayPass has been rolled out in 37 countries. Outside the US, PayPass speeds consumers through the checkout process at  McDonald’s (US, Poland, UK), Burger King (Turkey, UK), 7-Eleven (Australia), Starbucks (Turkey, Malaysia, UK), Petro-Canada (Canada) Tim Horton’s (Canada), Boots (UK), Tesco (UK), Carrefour, Cora and Intermarche (all 3 in France) and in many other types of merchants including supermarkets, cinemas, gas stations, fast food and transit.

Google is expected to release Google Wallet officially today and has created a very amusing ad (if you are a Seinfeld fan), below.
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