Google has made its online payment service available to retailers in the UK.
Google Checkout allows online shoppers to enter their payment details once, then use their Google login to pay at all participating sites. It has been available in the US since last summer, but was launched in the UK on Friday.
“[It’s] great news for retailers because shoppers will have a better experience when visiting their sites,” said Google’s senior product manager Jerry Dischler, who claimed that thousands of retailers and millions of shoppers had been using the service since its US launch.
Google Checkout also ties in closely with the firm’s Adwords service, which lets businesses put short, targeted, text-based advertisements alongside Google users’ search results. Although businesses do not have to be Adwords users to use Google Checkout, those who do will see a Checkout icon appear on their ads — a feature that Google claims will attract shoppers who are seeking an “easy and trusted payment option”.
As an extra incentive for businesses to use both services, Google is offering to process £10 of a retailer’s sales for free for every £1 the retailer spends on Adwords.

Posted: 04|19|07 at 7:15 am. Filed under: UK News.