Google Wallet for Digital Goods to Be Discontinued (Nov. 17, 2014)
Merchants using “Google Wallet for digital goods” to accept online payments on their Websites soon will have to find a new provider, and consumers no longer will be able to check out with the Google Wallet for digital goods when buying digital merchandise—for example, music or online magazine subscriptions. The decision pertains to service for digital goods in a browser-based environment, and doesn’t affect digital goods being sold through Android apps on the Google Play Store or processing in-app payments through Google Wallet.
“When we first launched Google Wallet for digital goods, we wanted to make it simple for users and merchants to buy and sell online [and] the industry has matured a lot since then, providing a number of alternative payment solutions to choose from,” according to Google’s Website. “As we continue to evolve and improve our merchant tools to meet new market challenges in the payments space, we are writing to let you know we will be retiring the Google Wallet for digital goods API on March 2, 2015.
While Google is well-positioned to dominate Android in-app payments, it isn’t winning in the browser-based payments market, so the search engine giant decided to refocus its efforts to in-app payments where its control of Android and Google Play give it a competitive advantage, according to Rick Oglesby, senior research analyst, Double Diamond Group LLC.
“Much of the digital goods market already flows through apps, and that is a space where Google Wallet can dominate,” Oglesby tells Paybefore. “Out on the Web it’s a much more open and competitive environment where winning would take lots of resources and would likely have a smaller payoff. It just makes sense to focus on lower hanging fruit.”
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