Checking out: Google to shutter Checkout in favor of Google Wallet

By Trevor Mogg May 21, 2013

The end is nigh for Google Checkout. The Mountain View company announced late Monday it’ll be shuttering its online payment processing service on November 20 as it transitions to Google Wallet.

“Today, we’re letting Web merchants know that in 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,” Google Wallet senior product manager Justin Lawyer wrote in a blog post announcing the news.

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The development comes just a week after the Web giant announced a number of enhancements to the Wallet platform, which include the introduction of the Instant Buy API that will give consumers using Google Wallet a speedier shopping experience.

Google actually replaced Checkout with Wallet back in 2011, but decided to keep the old service up and running for merchants who were keen to stick with it. Come November, however, those merchants will need to consider their next step. In his post, Lawyer explains exactly what the move means for merchants still using Checkout:

– If you don’t have your own payment processing, you will need to transition to a different solution within six months. To make things easier, we’ve partnered with Braintree, Shopify and Freshbooks to offer you discounted migration options

– If you are a U.S. merchant that does have payment processing, you can apply for Google Wallet Instant Buy, which offers a fast buying experience to Google Wallet shoppers.

Sellers of digital goods on Google (Google Play, Chrome Web Store, Offers Marketplace and Google Wallet for digital goods) will automatically transition to Google Wallet and so will not be affected by the closure of Google Checkout.

For Checkout merchants who want to find out more about the consequences of Google’s decision to shutter the service, the company will be broadcasting a live webinar on May 23 at 10am PST. Alternatively, its Help Center may be able to answer any questions you have.

[Image: DeiMosz / Shutterstock]

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Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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