Google has announced its own payment service, Google One Pass, for digital content. Google will charge about 10% of the fees charged by publishers.
The announcement comes a day after Apple announced changes in its payment system which takes 30% of the sale price.
Online publishers can sell digital content on the Web and through mobile applications using One Pass, which for now is limited to online newspapers and magazines. Google’s existing payment service, Google Checkout, will be used for transactions.
The new service, released on the official blog of Google will provide readers with a single username and password access to digital content on the mobile, tablet or online.
Apple says companies must now offer users the option to buy directly through an iTunes account, paying 30% of the price to Apple. Previously, vendors were allowed to direct customers to an external website and keep all the profits.
Moreover, unlike Apple’s service, One Pass is aimed more for use on websites than in apps. And Google will provide access to more information about users to publishers than Apple does.
Google spokeswoman Jeannie Hornung said the goal is to bring publishers a simple way to charge for content they choose to charge for, and for readers to have simple access without any restrictions on which devices they use.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the service is a publisher-friendly approach.
Schmidt said, "We basically don’t make any money on this. The most important thing is to get the money to people who are producing high-quality content."
The One Pass is available in France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US.
