Online Payments Via... Google?

Google could literally be about to give PayPal a run for its money. Rumor has it that Google Checkout is being pushed into the limelight with bloggers reporting that Google has now put a prominent link to the service on its main search page.

by Helen Leggatt

Checkout is similar to PayPal in that users can use it as a single source of payments for online spending.

The speculation comes on the heels of eBay announcing an increase in protection for buyers paying via PayPal. eBay has reportedly banned Checkout from being used for sales off their site because it hadn’t yet passed the test of time.

A nifty video tour of the Checkout service, featuring the "speedy cart" logo whizzing around, can be seen here. Not un-expectedly it explains how safe, fraud free and privacy conscious it will be. They’ll even protect you from spam sent from sites you’ve purchased from.

The Checkout website is tempting customers with a $10 bonus to be spent in one of the participating stores. Big names already onboard are Zales, StarbucksStore.com and Jockey.com.

Recent phishing scams involving PayPal have brought security concerns to the fore, so perhaps now is as good a time as any for Google emerge on the scene.