Google Checkout is moving to a tiered fee structure and will eliminate a key promotion tied to merchants' use of AdWords. The move effectively raises rates for most sellers.
Currently merchants pay 2% + $0.20 per transaction (there are no monthly, setup, or gateway service fees). Beginning May 5th, rates will range from 1.9% plus 30 cents per transaction for monthly sales of $100,000 or more, to 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction for monthly sales of less than $3,000.
Google also said it would discontinue the AdWords free transaction-processing promotion. Currently merchants who advertise with Google AdWords are eligible for free transaction processing for some or all of their Google Checkout sales each month. For every $1 spent on AdWords each month, merchants were allowed to process $10 in sales the following month for free through Google Checkout. The company said any AdWords transaction processing credits accrued during April 2009 will be applied towards transactions that occur on May 1-4, 2009.
Google Grants recipients will still be eligible for free donation processing until 2010. Google said users should stay tuned for more announcements about product enhancements coming soon.
Link to announcement
