4 ms·

Google checkout?

ido 16y ago
Only for US and UK sellers (and Amazon's payment service is only for US sellers iirc).
masklinn 16y ago
Nope. The experience is just as crummy, the support is even worse and there are pretty big geographical restrictions on both sides of exchanges (sales and buys). For instance, as far as I know you still can't buy or sell from Canada (with a canadian bank account anyway) via Checkout. Only alternatives are going straight for the credit card, or using international bank transfers (which I doubt are without hassles)
- jrockway 16y ago
  Does anyone actually want to pay right out of their bank account? I won't even use my debit card online.
  - ido 16y ago
    In Europe, yes. Bank transfers are the default form of payment here, until very recently most people didn't even own credit cards. Even today you can't use credit cards in most supermarkets in Austria, but you can normally pay with a direct bank transfer.
    - calloc 16y ago
      Or chip and pin.
- GFischer 16y ago
  For single payments (freelance stuff or whatever), Western Union ( http://www.westernunion.com/ http://www.westernunion.com/ ) might be the way to go. I received money via WU for about a decade with zero problems. But for online shopping, I don't have an alternative.
  - auxbuss 16y ago
    Western Union is very expensive, especially when currency exchange is involved. Maybe once a year I accept a payment from some part of the World where this is the buyer's only option. WU usually eats my margin, but I feel a little better for getting stuff out to where it otherwise wouldn't.
    - 2arrs2ells 16y ago
      I feel like WU has also been tainted by their frequent use by the 419 scammers.
  - rmc 16y ago
    Western Union is aimed at transfering money, not buying/selling goods. I had to transfer money to someone with WU and had to ring them up to verify it. They explicitly asked on the phone if I was sending money in exchange for goods, and that they don't support that, and you shouldn't use WU for that. This is would scare off most customers and is not a good business idea.
    - GFischer 16y ago
      I think those kind of checks are country-specific... I always received money here in Uruguay (from Austria and Canada) and nobody called the senders (family members or friends of family). Still, you're right... Wikipedia says: "Western Union advises its customers not to send money to someone that they have never met in person."

Google checkout?

ido 16y ago

Only for US and UK sellers (and Amazon's payment service is only for US sellers iirc).

Nope. The experience is just as crummy, the support is even worse and there are pretty big geographical restrictions on both sides of exchanges (sales and buys). For instance, as far as I know you still can't buy or sell from Canada (with a canadian bank account anyway) via Checkout. Only alternatives are going straight for the credit card, or using international bank transfers (which I doubt are without hassles)

jrockway 16y ago
Does anyone actually want to pay right out of their bank account? I won't even use my debit card online.
- ido 16y ago
  In Europe, yes. Bank transfers are the default form of payment here, until very recently most people didn't even own credit cards. Even today you can't use credit cards in most supermarkets in Austria, but you can normally pay with a direct bank transfer.
  - calloc 16y ago
    Or chip and pin.
GFischer 16y ago
For single payments (freelance stuff or whatever), Western Union ( http://www.westernunion.com/ http://www.westernunion.com/ ) might be the way to go. I received money via WU for about a decade with zero problems. But for online shopping, I don't have an alternative.
- auxbuss 16y ago
  Western Union is very expensive, especially when currency exchange is involved. Maybe once a year I accept a payment from some part of the World where this is the buyer's only option. WU usually eats my margin, but I feel a little better for getting stuff out to where it otherwise wouldn't.
  - 2arrs2ells 16y ago
    I feel like WU has also been tainted by their frequent use by the 419 scammers.
- rmc 16y ago
  Western Union is aimed at transfering money, not buying/selling goods. I had to transfer money to someone with WU and had to ring them up to verify it. They explicitly asked on the phone if I was sending money in exchange for goods, and that they don't support that, and you shouldn't use WU for that. This is would scare off most customers and is not a good business idea.
  - GFischer 16y ago
    I think those kind of checks are country-specific... I always received money here in Uruguay (from Austria and Canada) and nobody called the senders (family members or friends of family). Still, you're right... Wikipedia says: "Western Union advises its customers not to send money to someone that they have never met in person."