What is Google Checkout?

Google Checkout is convenient — for buyers and merchants.

If you have some goods or services to sell, Google Checkout lets you accept orders online from anyone with a Google Account. This attracts buyers who have used Google Checkout at any store, and know that they can go through the same quick, familiar process when shopping on your site.

Google makes things easier for you by handling all the financial transactions, from charging the buyer's credit or debit card to depositing the payment in your bank account. You'll be free to focus on making sales. At the same time, Google keeps you informed about each order and allows you to customize the process.

The diagram below demonstrates the stages a Google Checkout order passes through, from buyer to merchant to Google:

Google Checkout is safe.

Buyers' credit card details are given directly to Google, so even if they're unfamiliar with your store, they'll be able to trust that their information is secure — while you won't have to worry about safeguarding it.

You'll in turn be protected from fraudulent buyers and unwarranted chargebacks. Orders pass through comprehensive risk screening, and Google offers a payment guarantee on eligible transactions. And when using Google Checkout, you'll also be PCI-compliant, and we will perform sanctions screening on your behalf, bringing in you in line with industry and legal standards.

Google Checkout offers the flexibility to meet your business's needs.

This order flow is essentially the same for all Google Checkout merchants, but individual steps can be customized to suit your business. For example, if you have no need to check if your products are in stock, you can set your preferences so that Google will automatically charge any new orders, saving you that step.

Google offers a number of integration methods so you can find the best fit for you. Google Checkout can accommodate scenarios as wide-ranging as the following:

• You offer customized services for which the price varies.
  

  You can send your clients email invoices, which let you charge them for an amount you specify. They'll be sent a link to a Google Checkout page, so you don't even need a website.

• You're only selling one product and don't want to deal with overly technical implementations.
  

  Just describe your product to us and we'll generate the HTML code for a Buy Now button you can paste into a webpage. Process your orders through the Merchant Center interface we provide; we'll send you an email whenever you have a new order, so you'll know to sign in to the Merchant Center.

• You have stores in multiple states, and need to charge different tax and shipping rates for buyers in different locations.
  

  Set up a web service that will compute the appropriate tax and shipping cost, then use the Merchant Calculations API to have Google Checkout consult this service to total up orders.

• You already have an internal order processing system, but you'd like to accept Google Checkout to attract more buyers.
  

  Look into the Notification and Order Processing APIs, which lets your system communicate with Google Checkout. You'll receive XML notifications of any new orders, and can charge and mark them as shipped without ever logging in to your Google Checkout account.

With the multiple options Google Checkout has, you may wish to use the recommender to find the best integration method for you. You can also view a matrix with a comparative listing of features.