Google has announced it is pulling the plug on its PayPal rival Google Checkout – an online payments service that caught on with few merchants and consumers – and now is transitioning users over to Google Wallet.
Ben Lee, product manager, Google Wallet, on Thursday posted on an official Google blog: “We’re starting to take all the great functionality and ease-of-use you’ve come to know with Google Checkout and merge it with Google Wallet to create a single wallet, whether you’re buying online or in-store. We’re also starting to integrate Google Wallet as the payment method on Android Market, YouTube, Google+ Games and many other Google sites.”
Announced in September, Google Wallet integrates with existing credit card products to provide users a mobile payments tool that enables wave-and-pay transactions at participating retailers.
Penetration so far is limited – the mobile app currently is only on the Nexus S from Sprint – but Google has continued to express optimism about its push into payments tools.
Now, too, users without the Nexus S phone will be able to pay online at thousands of merchants who will be converted over from Google Checkout to Wallet. Merchants who accept MasterCard PayPass also are enabled to accept Wallet.
Observers said the consolidation of Checkout into Wallet makes good sense, by simplifying the user experience.
