Google Checkout promises to be a one stop purchase processor. Where have I heard this before?
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Transcript
Hi everyone, this is Leo Notenboom with news, commentary and answers to some
of the many questions I get at askleo.info.
Google Checkout launched today. It promises to provide a single place to
keep your payment information so as to make on-line transactions easier and
more secure.
All this sounds hauntingly familiar.
And while Google Checkout is being positioned in the press as a major
competitor to Paypal, which it undoubtedly is, it actually reminds me of
something else that hasn't done as well.
Quoting from the Google Checkout website: "Stop creating multiple accounts
and passwords."
Where have I heard that before?
Oh yeah, Microsoft Passport.
Passport was originally intended to be a single login solution that would
work across a broad range of websites, and reduce the number of places you
needed accounts, passwords and stored credit card information. Passport did OK
for a while, but it never really caught on. Today, Passport remains a mostly
Microsoft login solution for MSN properties and Microsoft's Windows Live
initiative. In fact you'll notice that it's slowly being rebranded as your
"Windows Live ID".
In my opinion, the biggest reason Passport failed is the issue of trust.
While there are a lot of Microsoft supports out there, there are many vocal
detractors. Many people distrust Microsoft for a variety of reasons - most not
actually related to Passport. Regardless, they didn't want to place their
personal details, such as credit card information, in Microsoft's hands.
The same actually holds true for Paypal. There are still many people who
refuse to use or get a Paypal account simple because of the trust issue, in
their case often surrounding how Paypal handles certain types of transaction
disputes.
Today, Google is the industry darling and a popular choice. Among it's many,
many assets it currently holds a very high level of trust among internet users.
More than any other service Google provides, if Checkout is to succeed, it will
require that Google as a whole, maintain and perhaps even improve, that high
level of trust.
If Google drops the ball, if that trust is lost for any reason - perhaps not
even directly related to the Checkout service - it's almost impossible to
regain.
There are some folks over at Microsoft that learned this lesson the hard
way.
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Trust me with your credit card, I dare you! Thats pretty much what people do everyday when they type in that 16 or so digit number, and click ‘ok’. With whats happening in data breaches, and thefts of personal data lately, and yes I was included in the theft of the veterans info. I got the official were gonna do something about it, but not sure what rigamorrow, anywho at what point do you stop trusting a website? It’s not like getting burned on a purchase down at the Ace hardware store, you usually have more reasons to go back. Whether out of need or you like the other 20 people that work there and just not the one guy that screwed you. Now if this nifty little program I tote around now on my U3 USB toy, were to not erase itself off a public machine, I would be scrwed and my trust level with the roboman would disentegrate..and I may not use a credit card online again…but hey thats me..and what about Google? I do use their gadgets, and love its new hotkey feature for a google search…but leave my vital-commerce tool on someone’s server(s), nah I dont think so..i dont have a passport either..
later leo,
my 2 cents
Brian
i want to change my messenger password but i dont know how.
It’s been a while since you recorded this, but a recent event prompted me to write in. There’s an issue with Checkout that doesn’t get much notice: what happens when there’s a dispute with a merchant.
If I pay an online merchant directly with a credit card, if there’s a problem and the merchant doesn’t resolve the problem to my satisfaction, I can dispute the issuer of the credit card. If I buy something from an Amazon.com associate merchant and there’s a problem that the merchant fails to resolve, Amazon.com will intercede on my behalf.
Not so with Google Checkout. Even if I pay with a credit card and there’s an issue, I can’t dispute the charge because the transaction is between me and Google, not the merchant. Google dispute resolution process is an online arbitration; lengthy, time consuming, and fruitless if there’s a fundamental disagreement with the merchant.
In my opinion, the loss of consumer protections is not offset by any conveniences Google Checkout may offer.
Leo – I just wanted to put this forward as a criterion if you should review similar services in the future.
Hey, I actually can’t view your web site properly inside of Chrome, I truly hope you take a look at fixing this.
10-Apr-2011