Google retiring Checkout service for Wallet

As it continues to beef up its Wallet e-commerce platform, Google on Tuesday (Manila time) announced plans to phase out its "Checkout" service by November 20.

 

Justin Lawyer, senior product manager for Google Wallet, said this means web merchants will have six months to make the transition.

 

"(I)n six months, Google Checkout will be retired as we transition to Google Wallet — a platform that enables merchants to meet the demands of a multi-screen world where consumers shop in-stores, at their desks and on their mobile devices," Lawyer said in a blog post.

 

He said Google last week enhanced the Wallet platform with the "Instant Buy" API that lets buyers make fast purchases of physical goods and services via Android apps and websites.

 

A second API, "Wallet Objects," lets merchants engage their customers with loyalty and offers, he added.

 

On the other hand, Lawyer said all Google Play developers will continue to be supported.

 

He added shoppers can "continue to use Google Wallet to make safer and more secure payments anywhere they see the Google Wallet button."

 

For "Google Checkout" merchants without their own payment processing, Lawyer said they "will need to transition to a different solution within six months."

 

But for Google Play developers, they will still be supported and will automatically transition to the Google Wallet Merchant Center in the next few weeks, he added.

 

Meanwhile, Lawyer said shoppers can continue using Google Wallet to make purchases on merchant apps and sites, and on Google properties, such as Google Play and Chrome Web Store.

 

"Just look for the Google Wallet button to make safer and more secure payments," he said.

 

A separate article on CNET noted Wallet had replaced Checkout as early as 2011, but Checkout remained an option for some merchants. — TJD, GMA News