A Google Checkout Glitch Raises Doubts About Alternative Payments



(September 15, 2009) Digital Transactions News: Google Inc. has apparently fixed a weeks-old problem with its Google Checkout online-payments system that prevented merchants from processing recurring transactions, such as subscription fees. While Google says the little-publicized glitch affected only a small number of merchants, other observers say this and outages experienced by other alternative payment services—such as PayPal Inc.—raise questions about their reliability in comparison to traditional card processors.



The fix for Google Checkout apparently went live Tuesday morning, according to an online forum hosted by the payment service. The forum displays posts from merchants reporting the issue dating back to Aug. 17. In response to questions from Digital Transactions News, a Google spokesperson would not disclose how many merchants were affected by the outage. “I can say it’s a small number,” she says in an e-mail message.



Continue Reading at DTN

Related articles by Zemanta

• Google Working On Micropayment Scheme To Help Newspapers Commit Suicide Faster (techdirt.com)