All three
programs are online payment processing services. PayPal was the first to be introduced in 2000. PayPal is the most popular of the three with
over 164 million users followed by Google Checkout and Microsoft Wallet. All three services make their income by
charging fees to merchants for items purchased with their service.
PayPal
PayPal is an
acquirer, performing payment processing for online vendors, auction sites, and
other commercial users, for which it charges a fee. Originally the result of a March 2000 merger
between Confinity and X.Com, PayPal became a wholly owned subsidiary of eBay in
October 2002. As of 2011 operates in 190
markets and manages more than 232 million accounts, more than 100 million of
them active. PayPal allows customers to send, receive, and hold funds in 25
currencies worldwide
PayPal’s
positive aspects are obvious. It is small
business-friendly, it welcomes international customers, it has great anti-fraud
measures and it provides a one-stop third-party payment processor. PayPal is
quick and easy for buyers to use, especially if they already have a PayPal
account. It is cheaper and easier to
qualify for a PayPal account than a business merchant account. Finally, since
ebay owns PayPal, if you spend a lot of time on eBay, having PayPal comes in
handy. A lot of ebay sellers only accept Paypal payments.
PayPal is
somewhat time consuming to set up, since you need to verify funds they deposit
into your bank account. PayPal is also famous for their lousy customer service.
Merchants can also be frustrated by the claims process that can take months to
resolve, during which time the merchants money is tied up, and is not subject
to appeal once PayPal has made a decision. Originally, a PayPal account could
be funded with an electronic debit from a bank account or by a credit card at
the payer's choice. But they now require a verified bank account after the
account holder exceeded a predetermined spending limit.
Google Checkout
Google
Checkout was introduced in June 2006 and is, obviously, provided by Google. It is aimed at providing a simple process of
paying for online purchases. Users store their credit or debit card and
shipping information in their Google Account, so that they can purchase at
participating stores by clicking an on-screen button. Google Checkout provides
fraud protection and a unified page for tracking purchases and their status. Checkout uses a tiered pricing charge.
Google has
been criticized for providing canned responses on their help line which are do
not provide merchants with adequate support.
There are other disadvantages to Google Checkout. While PayPal allows user to register using
preexisting information (email addresses), Google requires that customers get a
Google account before they’re allowed to use Google Checkout. Additionally, since 2006, Ebay, which owns
PayPal has banned the use of Checkout on its site. Google does itself an
incredible disservice by not linking to bank accounts. It would benefit them to increase the ways
that consumers can pay sellers. Also Google checkout only accepts US Dollars or
British Pounds. It also defaults all payments to the currency of where your
business address is registered, therefore you can’t display or process payments
in other currencies.
The number
one reason why you should include Google Checkout on your e-commerce website may
also be the Google Android operating system. Because cell phones are
increasingly becoming more and more like mini-computers having a Checkout
account that you can use on your Android powered phone makes good sense. Now Google has made Google Wallet to physically replace your wallet with your phone.
Microsoft Wallet
Microsoft
Wallet is a digital wallet capability built into Internet Explorer. Wallet was
superseded by the server-based wallet in Microsoft's Passport service, later
renamed Windows Live ID. This service allows
users to log in to many websites using one account. Microsoft Passport, the
predecessor to Windows Live ID, was originally positioned as a single sign-on
service for all web commerce. The
service is more directed towards merchants and payment companies, “allowing
them to plug in their payment systems," said Jonathan Weinstein, Microsoft
group product manager. "We are controlling the user's experience and
providing architecture that other payment companies can plug in to.” (see http://news.cnet.com/Microsoft-to-open-digital-wallet/2100-1017_3-278317.html)
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