Google Wallet Launches Content Micropayments

Google has launched a Google Wallet experiment to see if web users would be prepared to pay for individual web pages if the payment process was simple.

Google Wallet was launched in the US last year and is also used by owners of NFC-enabled smartphones to make contactless payments.

The tech giant said that by providing an easy-to-use payment platform, users will be more willing to pay for premium content. An example of this would be in-app purchases in mobile applications which have inspired the ‘freemium’ business model.

Google Wallet micropayments

Prospective buyers will be encouraged to part with their cash through the promise of instant refunds if the content is not satisfactory. Users can click for a refund immediately and Google says that it will monitor such instances to ensure that the refunds are genuine rather than people trying to avoid paying.

Interested sites should embed the Google Wallet banner into their web pages and select what the visitor can see as a free preview. Google will only look at the free preview to rank pages, meaning that content providers might be more inclined to offer more at no charge, or ramp up SEO efforts in the content on show.

A number of content creators are participating, including Oxford University Press and Dorling Kingsley. Google has created a number of examples to show how the system works. Users are able to see the free preview, before the Google Wallet prompt comes up and the rest of the text disguised by grey bars.

The experiment could determine whether such a method is viable for newspapers, magazines and reference providers who want to monetise their content on the Internet. Payments of up to 99 cents can be made through the feature, with Google recommending that providers who want to charge more than that, or don’t want to offer instant refunds, should try its digital goods games solution.

Earlier this year, Google was forced to defend the security of its Google Wallet, saying that it was suitable for mobile payments.

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