Several retailers have been quietly testing a Google payment system called GBuy, and users will see a GBuy icon next to AdWords paid search ads. PayPal has dominated the online payment field for some time. It has been a profitable business, one which eBay purchased in October 2002.
- j9 y( }1 @) |+ f6 `$ b1 Y
* o0 B8 j5 Q" uPayPal delivered nearly a quarter of eBay's most recent quarterly revenue of $1.3 billion, the Wall Street Journal said in a report today. " Y# H4 f; ^ m& r
; ^! W; s" R1 S3 H, O
That PayPal revenue may look like a big jar of chocolate chips to the Cookie Monsters at Google. Their rival system, called GBuy, has been getting a workout since the early part of 2005. The Journal cited a source briefed on the service:
- g& w* Y. G) S7 O) K
( u6 _. K9 C) V7 d2 p) @) ?7 \3 B) y" E' b
For the last nine months, Google has recruited online retailers to test GBuy, according to one person briefed on the service. GBuy will feature an icon posted alongside the paid-search ads of merchants, which Google hopes will tempt consumers to click on the ads, says this person. GBuy will also let consumers store their credit-card information on Google.
. B. `! P2 T; q
2 o8 ^. D6 j7 uStoring payment information has been an ease-of-use feature and strength of PayPal. Google has enough brand recognition to get a lot of attention. The Journal's report seems to suggest the way Google will get users on board will be through its GBuy retailers. But will eBay accept GBuy as a payment method? Probably, as long as eBay gets its cuts of a sale as is customary. % I- x( Z" Y+ [
A6 @3 h6 _, I4 |' O! H8 r! |The GBuy.com domain returns a "page not found" error when tested, so whatever Google has on tap isn't readily available yet. The domain has been registered to the Burbank, CA, firm Trout & Zimmer. SearchEngineWatch noted in September 2005 how the domain gcalendar.com was transferred from Trout & Zimmer to Data Docket Inc, a firm well known for registering domain names with Google as part of the name. $ W3 s8 J( i6 l' j0 ]$ p
& g+ v1 r4 u: V; ^6 RGoogle, as per usual, had no comment on any pending products, the Journal said. |
|