Google to Shut Down Checkout Payment Processing Service

Google has announced it is shutting down its Checkout payment processing service. The PayPal competitor will be operational through November 20.

Mashable’s Stan Shroeder reported, “Google will retire its payment processing service, Google Checkout, on November 20, 2013, as part of a transition to its multi-platform payment system — Google Wallet. Checkout was launched in June 2006, as an alternative to PayPal. Initially free, the service was gradually moved to a tiered cost structure, similar to PayPal’s.”

TechCrunch’s Catherine Shu added, “Google suggests that merchants who do not have their own payment processing transition to Braintree, Shopify or Freshbooks, which are offering discounted rates for Google Checkout users. U.S. merchants who do have their own payment processing can apply for Google Wallet Instant Buy. Developers selling through Google properties will automatically transition to the Google Wallet Merchant Center in the next few weeks.”

PCWorld’s Jeremy Kirk noted, “Wallet will now be the company’s focus. Developers for its Play store will be moved to the Google Wallet Merchant Center, Justin Lawyer, senior product manager for Google Wallet, wrote. There will be no changes for consumers using Wallet on sites such as Priceline and Uber, according to Lawyer.”

ReadWrite’s Owen Thomas commented, “While Google’s not completely of the payments game—and one should never count the monolith of Mountain View out—it feels like Google is taking a big step back from the money business. Whether its bet on digital and mobile payments is a tactical retreat or a strategic defeat might not be clear for years.”