
Google releases OnePass, a payment system for publishers - wigginus
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/simple-way-for-publishers-to-manage.html
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Pewpewarrows
Quite impeccable timing on Google's part, merely days after developers and
publishers are up-in-arms over Apple's 30% cut for on-device content.

Well played Schmidt, well played.

~~~
faramarz
I honestly think this is something Google mashed together overnight in
response to Apple's annoucement.

Look at the page. It's just an informational landing page. no breakdown of the
framework, pricing or any details, and once you click the signup button, you
are put on a queue for a sales rep to contact you.

I love it though. It's a great case study for startups! I think they're
gauging interest with this one, simple page.. and if enough people sign-up
they will actually build it over the weekend.

~~~
kawera
Well, they've been talking about it since September 2009:
<http://goo.gl/zYSzH>

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jonknee
The payment side is powered by Google Checkout, so the fee structure smacks
Apple around all over the place. The most expensive tier (under $3000 in
monthly sales) is 2.9% + $0.30. The cheapest is 1.9% + $0.30.

~~~
zyb09
They need to add other payment options then CreditCards to Google Checkout.
Nobody uses CreditCards in Europe and it's kinda stupid that I can't even buy
Apps on the Marketplace and have see if the vendor support direct purchase
form their website via PayPal or something.

~~~
rkudeshi
If not credit cards, then what do Europeans use?

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die_sekte
Sane wire transfers, direct debit, and a multitude of other things. Credit
cards are on the rise though.

~~~
masklinn
On the other hand, even debit cards are usually called credit cards, at least
in france (either that or "carte bleue" which is the french standard for these
things).

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markszcz
Android dabbler/developer here.

I like how google is empowering their developers with different pricing
strategies. Before it was plain vanilla, either you pay, or its free. Yes you
can pay for an app and within 15 minutes ask for a refund, but I have trouble
sending in a rebate, I know i'll forgot within those 15 minutes.

With these extra payment options, and from what I understand, easy charging
system, having someone drop a dollar on content with few clicks or even being
able to implement coupons for your content/application will be greatly
appreciated. =)

~~~
abhigupta
As a consumer, I don't like the fact that now I will have to keep track of
different way each website will charge me money.

~~~
Andrenid
Do you have the same trouble walking through a mall, dealing with the
different pricing structures and mixture of cash & credit at stores?

I really don't think it's much different.

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modernerd
One Pass "also offers payments in mobile apps, in instances where the mobile
OS terms permit transactions to take place outside of the app market." Nice
dig.

~~~
foobarbazetc
If you read the Android Market terms of service, you'll see that you're not
allowed to use any payment processor except Google Checkout. The only
exception is if Google Checkout isn't available in your country.

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jbrennan
In the blog post they say it will be "Open". What do they mean by that? Open
source? Open for everyone in the world? From what I can tell in the post, it's
only available in some countries, and it's also only available with Google
Checkout.

I'm not saying those are bad things, just wondering what it has to do with
"Open". Unless of course Google is just continuing to use it as a buzzword.

~~~
nudge
Presumably it's something like 'can be used outside of a walled payment
ecosystem like the app store'

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uptown
Doesn't this name clash with the Continental Airlines frequent flyer program
name?

~~~
theBobMcCormick
Are people really going to confuse a frequent flyer program and a payment
system?

~~~
uptown
Perhaps not right now, but Google has already shown their interest in the
flight information industry with their pending $700 million bid for ITA. Its
not a stretch to assume that they may use this acquisition to provide a method
to search-for and purchase airline tickets using their mobile payment system.

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mise
The signup page is linking my to a generic Google help page.

~~~
btipling
And there's no demonstration of how it works in the video or in any images.
It's as if some people at Google decided to react to Apple's recent bad press
by putting up a web page and a blog post announcing a product without actually
having built anything yet.

~~~
Kylekramer
While I suspect One Pass is probably quite a bit from actual use by any
publisher, this press release/the video has probably been in the works ever
since the rumblings about Apple's subscription plans made the rounds. While
not the most honest move, it is a brilliant PR coup.

~~~
Pooter
> While not the most honest move, it is a brilliant PR coup.

You misspelled vaporware.

Apple announced something they're gonna roll out in the next rev. of iOS.
Google put out a press release.

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clscott
It's not just in response to Apple, the timing is just fortuitous, O'Reilly's
Tools of Change ( a publishing industry conference ) is on in New York this
week and it was probably timed to coincide with that event.

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tomkinstinch
I had an urge to implement something similar while ago using OpenID. Since
OpenID authentication has a handshake between a content website and an
identity provider, it would provide the perfect channel for handling
accounting. Paying to read an article would be as simple as logging in.

It is undeniable that Google has enough gravity as an identity provider to
encourage publishers to adopt such a model.

I don't really see how to get people to pay for an article sight unseen,
though. Familiarity with content by known authors may be enough for some.

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alanh
I bet it's killed or unpopular and neglected within four years.

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ck2
This is just a micropayment system from Google? Or am I missing something?

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noodle
i wonder if you can use this as a generic web application paid subscription
solution like a merchant + recurly (for example).

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berlusconi
I wonder if the customer service for OnePass payments will be as good as it is
for Google Checkout.

I'm thinking of previous discussions such as:

 _Google Checkout Nightmare and the $126,000 phone call_ :

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1432107>

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olalonde
Is this sarcastic? (never used Google Checkout)

~~~
JonnieCache
Hard to tell. Google Checkout's UX is generally very good, better than paypal,
however it is simply unavailable in many (most?) countries.

EDIT: Oh he said customer service. Google's direct customer service is
notoriously nonexistent.

~~~
stanleydrew
They have support for lots of countries now: <http://goo.gl/I49QQ>.

