How Safe Is Google Checkout?

Credit cards can be used with Google Checkout.

Nearly $150 billion in e-commerce transactions and sales were conducted in 2008, according to Plunkett Research. As e-commerce continues to grow, so does the number of people using online payment-processing services, with PayPal being the best-known service. Google Checkout is a relatively new player in this field, as it only started in 2006. Google Checkout boasts several layers of safety to protect both buyers and sellers.

PCI Compliance

Google Checkout is certified as Level 1 Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant. This essentially means that the service has a very secure network for credit card transactions. This level of PCI certification also requires that the service protect cardholder data and have control measures in place. Google Checkout is also subject to an annual on-site security review and audit to confirm its compliance.

Seller Safety

Google Checkout takes several steps to ensure that sellers and merchants who use the program are safe and legitimate. First, Google Checkout requires that all merchants have a Merchant ID, which is used to secure all communications between Google and the seller. Google also uses API authentication and digital signatures when setting up shopping carts and conducting online transactions. This not only bolsters safety, it also helps automate the process for sellers.

Buyer Safety

To protect buyers, Google Checkout does not allow merchants to see a customer's credit card number. Rather, the customer provides credit card information to Google Checkout when creating a new account, and the service routes payments directly to the merchant's designated account.

Fraud Protection

Google Checkout offers strong fraud-protection policies. Google Checkout has several Buyer Credit Verification features for merchants, including verification of billing and shipping addresses and Card Verification Value (CVV) confirmation. Also in place is an advanced risk model that Google uses to detect fraud by buyers. As soon as a fraudulent purchase is detected, the order will be canceled along with other transactions in a merchant's store that have used the same credit card information.

Chargeback Protection

For Google Checkout merchants, the service offers both chargeback protection and a payment guarantee policy. In the chargeback protection program, Google reviews each chargeback to a merchant's account to determine eligibility and, if necessary, disputes the charges on he merchant's behalf. The payment guarantee policy assures sellers that they will be reimbursed for unwarranted claims of "non-receipt of goods" or "unauthorized" charges.

References

• Plunkett Research
• PCI Compliance Guide
• Google Checkout