When I first heard about Google Checkout, I thought it was just another credit card payment acceptance service offering no fraud protection to Internet merchants. Being committed to helping merchants avoid credit card fraud, I was thrilled to learn my initial perception couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Gavin Chan, Product Marketing Manager and Andy Nowka, Product Manager for Google Checkout. Google Checkout is a checkout process that allows Internet merchants to collect credit card payments in the absence of a merchant account. The fantastic benefits of this service to consumers and merchants are many.

Google Checkout offers consumers a fast, convenient, easy way to checkout online. Consumers enter their payment information once and can place orders with hundreds of merchants while their credit card information remains protected in the system. Google Checkout also includes a merchant/consumer communication interface and order tracking system where consumers can conveniently check the status of orders.

In addition to lower processing fees, what makes Google Checkout exceptional in my opinion is the protection it offers its merchants with regard to credit card fraud. Google employs a risk operations team to continually monitor and upgrade their proprietary, world-class risk system. With this system, the risk operations team can effectively identify fraudulent transactions, which are cancelled before the merchant has the opportunity to ship the product. Ninety-eight percent of the remaining orders are payment protected under Google Checkout’s Payment Guarantee Policy. In other words, Google does all the tedious credit card verifications for you and protects you against 98% of the orders processed through your account. You simply process orders in accordance with Google’s Payment Guarantee Policy and if a protected order turns out to be fraudulent, Google Checkout assumes the risk. The policy even covers orders being shipped to alternate street addresses!

This Payment Guarantee Policy is absolutely unprecedented in the industry! I’ve never seen anything like it. It saves merchants valuable time verifying transactions and significantly minimizes the risk and worry associated with Internet credit card fraud. But like everything, there is a caveat. Less than 2% of orders processed through Google Checkout are neither cancelled nor covered by the Payment Guarantee Policy. In these rare cases, merchants assume the risk for the orders if they choose to ship them. But assuming the risk for 2% of orders rather than 100% of orders is a welcomed alternative.

Another significant benefit to merchants is Google Checkout’s Chargeback Resolution Policy. According to Andy and Gavin, Google Checkout takes an “innocent until proven guilty” position towards merchants when an order is under dispute. This is especially important for claims of defective merchandise or “items not as described.” The team at Google Checkout will review the supporting documentation and arrive at a fair resolution, which likely includes the verifiable return of goods to the merchant.

Accepting Google Checkout on your e-commerce website is easy. Simply visit http://www.googlecheckout.com for more information. JewelryImpressions.com has been proudly accepting Google Checkout since January 2008. My only regret is that we didn’t incorporate it sooner. With its lower credit card processing fees, Payment Guarantee Policy and Chargeback Resolution philosophy, the exceptional checkout process alternative has this tenacious fraud-fighter singing the Google Checkout fight song. In my opinion, Google Checkout is truly a no-brainer for foiling Internet credit card fraud.

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Michelle Rahm of JewelryImpressions.com is a recognized expert in online fraud prevention. Rahm has spoken to a number of groups, written articles and been an interview subject for a number of leading trade, Internet and media outlets. Contact her at (970) 535-4139.

Contact Michelle at 970-535-4139 to speak at your next event.