Google Merchant Center Review

Google is one of the largest businesses in the world, offering a range of internet-related services including search, ads, social media, and more.

The company’s business services include AdSense, GPay, and the Merchant Center, all of which you can use to promote your products online, make sales, and even put products directly on Google Shopping.

While the Google Merchant Center is not a merchant account or payment processing service in and of itself, you can easily add Google Wallet onto your subscription to process all online payments directly through Google.

However, with no real merchant account service (Google Merchant is not an acquiring bank and cannot accept or process credit card transactions for you), you will still need a merchant account solution on top of your account.

• Google Wallet available
• Increase online visibility and feature your products on Google Shopping
• Not a merchant account or credit card processing service
• No benefits or offers for offline business
• Improves Google advertising

Google Merchant Center is a good solution for e-commerce businesses looking for increased exposure and increased sales. You may also be able to combine it with other services like Google Wallet to start offering sales online through Google Shopping with no upfront investment on your part.

In this guide you will find

What is Google Merchant Center?

The Google Merchant Center is a merchant tool for uploading products to Google Shopping. The tool also allows you to link Google AdWords and Google Product Search, which will boost your visibility online. For example, products listed in Google Shopping will show up at the top of Google search results and in the sidebar, where shoppers can see your products like an ad without you spending money on actual advertising.

Unfortunately, Google Merchant Center is not a merchant service and it will not allow you to process and authorise transactions, despite the name leading many to believe that it is a merchant account service.

The Google Merchant Center allows you to upload your product inventory, create and manage rich inventory (Tags, product description, and price), and list those products for sale using a Google checkout or wallet service. Linking your Google Merchant account allows you to automatically pull products and product information into other business tools including Google AdWords to create product ads consumers can purchase from.

What Does Google Merchant Center Cost?

Setting up a Google Merchant account is free, all you need is a Google account. You can then set it up, sign up for Google Merchant Center, and begin submitting to Google Product Search. You will have to map your product categories first, but Google offers a walkthrough tutorial.

Listing products on Google Shopping is free, as is selling them, but you will typically have to actually use PPC to advertise in order get the visibility to make sales.

What is Google Checkout?

Google Checkout was a Google business service that was discontinued in 2013. Most merchants no longer have access to the service and anyone who signed up shortly before it was cancelled was refunded in full. Google Checkout was an online payment gateway offering a simple, flat-rate fee based on transaction volume.

Unfortunately, you can no longer sign up for this service. Google discontinued signup in 2013, despite the name still appearing in many places on Merchant Services and many sites still recommending the online payment gateway. If a website references it, the information on the site is out of date. However, you can choose to use either Google Wallet with Google shopping or GPay, the Google payment API instead.

Using Google Wallet for Commercial Transactions

Google Wallet is a contactless payment solution allowing users to pay using their credit card and other payment services from one app. You can easily sign up by creating a Google Account and going through the verification process, and then begin using it to accept commercial payments. However, you cannot use Google Wallet to process payments through an e-commerce platform.

To begin accepting commercial payments through Google Wallet, sign into your account, go to settings, and turn on “Use Wallet for Commercial Transactions”. You will have to choose the payment types you intend to accept and save your new settings.

Google Wallet allows you to accept occasional payments such as lump sums, one-time large payments for invoices, and payments for large products or services. There are no fees to use Google Wallet for commercial transactions.

Unfortunately, Google Wallet is extremely limited because you cannot integrate it into a shopping cart as a checkout page. This is a huge disadvantage if you’re looking for a checkout solution. However, with no fees, Google Wallet is one of the lowest-cost solutions for accepting rent, requesting payments for services, and requesting payments for large-ticket items paid in installments.

GPay or the Google Payment API

GPay or the Google Payment API allows you to insert checkout buttons for fast-checkout on any device. GPay works by simply connecting the customer to the payment method saved in their Google Account and allowing them to check out with that, which connects to your service – enabling one-click checkout even on new sites. The idea is that GPay will boost conversion by increasing trust (Google is a very well-known brand) and speeding up checkout, especially on mobile where shopping cart abandonment due to frustration is high. However, GPay does not process transactions for you and you will need another merchant account service to actually process payments.

GPay is compatible with Stripe, Ayden, BrainTree, Stripe, PaySafe, Vantiv, and Worldpay.

What Other Merchant Accounts Can You Choose?

There are dozens of merchant account solutions available in the UK, and almost all of them work with Google. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all merchant account solution and you will have to compare your options, check offerings, and find a solution that fits your business size, security needs, and budget. The following include some of the best merchant accounts in the UK.

If you’re looking for a merchant account, there are plenty of options, so consider starting by identifying what you need, how you want to sell, and what you can pay. Barclays, Elavon, and Worldpay are among the largest merchant account services in the UK, while Stripe and PayPal offer solutions to mostly small and medium business.

Final Verdict