Today at Google I/O, we launched the developer API of
Google In-App
Payments for the web. In-App Payments enables any web application to receive
payments from users and keep them engaged in your application. It is available to all US
developers in sandbox today and will be followed by a consumer launch and an international
rollout over the summer.
The team started building Google In-App
Payments soon after Jambool was
acquired
by Google in August 2010. This project brought Social Gold technology and expertise
and combined it with Google scale. For the payments platform that we’re announcing today, the
theme is simplicity:
The simple API makes
integration fast so you can start getting paid sooner. Implementing In-App Payments requires
only two API calls: one to initiate the payment, and one to accept the notification when a
payment is made.
The simple user experience will let
your users pay without leaving the app or entering billing details. Users who have previously
completed a purchase on
Google Checkout,
Android Market,
Google eBookstore,
YouTube Movies and more can use that same
account to pay for items in your app in minimal steps. Fast payments that keep users in your
game or site can boost customer conversion rates, increasing your revenue.
The simple pricing model is a flat payment processing fee of 5%. It’s
5% whether you distribute your app yourself or via the Chrome Web Store. There are no fixed
purchase fees, setup costs, or monthly minimums.
The JavaScript
version of the In-App Payments API is available to developers today. A Flash version of the
API will be available in the coming weeks.
We invite you to
sign up, start
integrating your apps and
send
us feedback. Let’s work together to delight consumers this summer with amazing web
apps, monetized effectively, all in the app.
