Letter from Google saying WHMCS doesn't comply

[webresellers]

I just got this email letter from Google saying the WHMCS checkout method doesnt comply with their terms/policy.

 

Hello

 

After a recent review of your account, we found that your website http://www.webresellers.net doesn't display Google Checkout buttons in accordance with the following policies:

 

- Use standard Google buttons only

You may only use Google-hosted button images. You may not alter the size, shape, color or any other aspect of these images. e.g . Google Checkout should not be listed in a drop-down menu or as a radio button.

 

- Direct buyers quickly to Google

If you're using Google Checkout buttons, you must ensure that buyers who click the Google Checkout button on your site see the Google Checkout confirmation page within one second, and without seeing any intermediate pages. This will help you avoid shopping cart abandonment. We recommend you consider pre-computing shopping carts, leveraging server to server posting, and other tips in our Developer's Guide.

 

On your website the buyer has to first click on a radio button after which he has to fill in his personal information.

 

To comply with our policies please ensure that you remove the radio button and replace it with the Google Checkout button. This button should lead straight to the Secure Checkout page. The buyer should not be asked for any personal information before or after he clicks on the Google Checkout button.

 

Please let me know when you have made the necessary changes to your website so we can review it and approve your account.

 

Please feel free to reply to this email if you have any additional questions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Nishant

The Google Checkout Team

[Matt]

Not allowed to collect any personal details from the user? That would make handling the order difficult! Ask them to contact us directly and I'll put them straight!

 

Matt

[Si]

The buyer should not be asked for any personal information before or after he clicks on the Google Checkout button.

 

No wonder I've seen very few sites offering google checkout if that's their attitude. (Very microsofty) lol

[webresellers]

Matt, I have replied to their email asking them to contact you (WHMCS.COM) directly. Please keep us posted on this one, as they are holding our funds until account/transactions "are approved".

[Jordan]

I received a similar email on Aug 27th:

Hello Jordan,

 

After a recent review of your account, we found that your website doesn't

appear to display Google Checkout buttons in accordance with the following

policies :

 

- Use standard Google buttons only

 

You may only use Google-hosted button images. You may not alter the size,

shape, color or any other aspect of these images. e.g . Google Checkout

should not be listed in a drop-down menu or as a radio button.

Additionally, Google Checkout must be presented as an alternative checkout

flow, not a payment type akin to Visa, personal checks etc.

 

- Ensure 1:1 and adjacent button placement

 

You must place a Google checkout button or Buy Now button immediately

beside, above, or below every existing checkout button or link on your

website. (Because users tend to read horizontally, we recommend placing

the Google button beside your existing buttons and links.)

 

You must separate the Google checkout process from your existing checkout

process. If a buyer initiates your existing checkout process, they must

not see a Google Checkout button.

 

- Place Google Checkout buttons before login pages

 

Buyers should only have to provide their purchasing information once. If

you require users to register or sign in to your site, you must ensure

Google Checkout and Buy Now buttons are available before the login process

so buyers are able to check out with Google Checkout without having to log

in. (You may still track visits and personalize pages using cookies.)

 

- Direct your 'checkout' links and buttons to the checkout process

Buttons or links containing the word 'checkout' should initiate a checkout

process, not a 'view cart' page. The latter may confuse buyers and disrupt

the purchase flow.

 

Please note, your account is still active, however, and you may continue

to process transactions.

 

For more information about Google Checkout button and Buy Now button

requirements, please visit

https://checkout.google.com/seller/policies.html

 

For information about Google Checkout badges, please visit

http://checkout.google.com/support/sell/bin/answer.py?answer=37897

 

You may wish to check your website against our Integration Checklist as

following these guidelines will ensure a positive buyer experience on your

website and will ensure that you are compliant with all of Google

Checkout's program and content policies:

https://checkout.google.com/support/sell/bin/answer.py?answer=72125

 

Please feel free to reply to this email if you have any additional

questions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bharadwaj

The Google Checkout Team

[brianr]

I also got one of those emails...

[Angler]

It was because of these draconian policies that we decided not to use Google checkout.

[PPH]

We received a message from google about the failures to comunicate with our server as it wants to log in to the call back url securely via id and password. We are currently trying the callback url in a subdirectory whereas it is password protected with our account # and password. This may help Matt change the location of the callback url to a subfolder that can be securely accessed for those of us with PHPsuexec. Although Google seems to be more trouble than it's worth

[webresellers]

We thought we would offer Google Checkout just as another option available to us and the customer. We have removed Google Checkout from our order pages, and once we get our money from Google, (if we ever see it), we will be dropping google checkout all together. There are too many payment options out there... Who needs another head ache?

[pacwebhosting]

We received a message from google about the failures to comunicate with our server as it wants to log in to the call back url securely via id and password. We are currently trying the callback url in a subdirectory whereas it is password protected with our account # and password. This may help Matt change the location of the callback url to a subfolder that can be securely accessed for those of us with PHPsuexec. Although Google seems to be more trouble than it's worth

 

Hi,

 

Please keep us informed how this goes I would be very interested as we use phpsuexec

 

Thanks

 

Paul

[PPH]

Hi,

 

Please keep us informed how this goes I would be very interested as we use phpsuexec

 

Thanks

 

Paul

Will do, and Matt is waiting for the answer too I am hopeful for an attempt shortly

[railto]

Just as well googlecheckout dosent work with euros, otherwise i would have used it

[webresellers]

I removed Google Checkout from being seen from the checkout screen, and they sent a screen shot of our checkout area where you choose your payment method in WHMCS. Apparently they want their "Google Checkout Logo" on this page an not use the radio button and text word.

 

LATEST EMAIL FROM GOOGLE:

 

Thanks for making changes to your website and removing the radio button.

However I would suggest you place the Google Checkout button on the same page and ensure that it leads straight to the Secure Checkout page. I have attached a snapshot of the page where you can place the Google Checkout button. If you can do this, your website will comply with all our policies.

 

Please note that your account is still active and you will continue to receive your payouts. You can let me know when you have made the necessary changes to your website so we can review it and approve your account.

 

Please feel free to reply to this email if you have any additional questions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Nishant

The Google Checkout Team

[pacwebhosting]

I think there may some confusion here.

 

Google only allow the use of the checkout button if it takes the customer to the google page and takes their details there and passes them back to your billing system

 

As long as you dont use the checkout button/logo then you are fine

 

The approval is for the ability to be able to use the checkout button not google checkout the way WHMCS uses it.

 

So as long as the google checkout button is not on there (or anywhere on your site) you will be fine otherwise google have issues as it is not the way the button is meant to be used.

 

Paul

[brianr]

I think there's still a problem no matter if you use the checkout button or not:

 

https://checkout.google.com/seller/policies.html

 

Look at 2d, 3, 4c in the policy document:

 

2. Order Management

...

d. Ability to enter coupon codes must be available to buyers after initiating checkout through Google Checkout

If you accept coupons on your website in any way, you must allow buyers to provide coupon code information in the Google Checkout checkout process.

 

3. Google Checkout Branding and Acceptance Logo Guidelines

 

a. Use standard Google Checkout acceptance logos only

If you're a Google Checkout merchant in good standing, you may display the Google-hosted Checkout acceptance logo on your website. This logo informs prospective buyers that you accept Google Checkout. You may not alter the size, shape, color, or any other aspect of the acceptance logos provided by Google. Any use of the Google Checkout product name, logo, buttons, or associated imagery not explicitly authorized in this section is strictly prohibited.

 

b. Do not position or present Google Checkout as a form of payment equivalent to Visa, MasterCard, etc.

Google Checkout aggregates existing payment types to allow buyers and merchants to transact. Google Checkout is not a form of payment that replaces or is equivalent to existing payment types and must not be presented as such. Buyers using the ecommerce provider's standard checkout flow should not, therefore, encounter a payment field dropdown with Google Checkout listed alongside payment types like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc. Instead, the buyer should have the option of selecting Google Checkout as a distinct checkout flow as required in 4b.

 

4. Google Checkout buttons and Buy Now buttons

...

c. Place Google Checkout buttons before your login pages

Buyers should only have to provide their login, purchasing, and other information once. If you require users to register or sign in to your site, you must ensure Google Checkout and Buy Now buttons are available before the login process so buyers are able to check out with Google Checkout without having to log in. (You may still track visits and personalize pages using cookies.)

 

My interpretation of 3 & 4c is that you aren't permitted to use the Google Checkout name in any way other then using one of their specific logos, and 3b seems to indicate that the radio boxes to select Google Checkout are also not permitted. (Albeit they talk about drop-downs, and we're talking about radio boxes, but the functionality is equivalent.)

[pacwebhosting]

Does seem that way..

 

If that is the case then google checkout would be worthless as a WHMCS payment method unless it worked in a totally different manner.

 

Matt can you provide some help and guidance etc?

 

Thanks

 

Paul

[webresellers]

I think Google is looking to see something like:

 

[pacwebhosting]

yes it is but the button goes straight to google checkout - how do you then get the customer into whmcs?

 

Paul

[brianr]

That might take care of the logo requirements, but if Google Checkout is the only payment processor that doesn't work quite yet either -- the user gets directed to step4 (and a login form) which is another no-no.

 

[edit] ^^^ he beat me to it by seconds

[webresellers]

How about creating the user account 1st, then enter into the ordering process?

[pacwebhosting]

thats a no go as google want the user to only have to do that once with them so the user gets used to just doing that with google checkout etc

 

Paul

[pacwebhosting]

Google basically as I understood it before today want you to show the customer a product for example hostingpackage 1 and have the checkout button beside it - the customer clicks the button which has all the product info etc in the link and gets taken to google checkout and pays and then the info on the customer is sent back via a callback and the billing system sets the user up from the info passed by google.

 

I also thought it was ok not to use the button and just have an acceptance logo and to process transactions the way whmcs does but now I am not so sure.

 

paul

[Neil Hennigan]

Yep, Google doesn't want to be included in your checkout process, it requires that it be treated as a checkout option of its own.

 

In order to comply, you either need to have a Google button next to the product, or, in step 4, you'd need to have "or checkout via <Google Checkout Image> right beneath the "Click to Continue" button.

 

Just listing Google Checkout in the "Payment Methods" area alone is enough for them to hassle you.. it is not meant to be a payment method, it is a checkout that accepts certain payment methods.

 

If you're not accepting tons of daily orders... for example, if you sell primarily yearly packages.. just adding the button and passing the order details onto google without WHMCS account creation shouldn't be a huge hassle. Just create the account for the customer, or send him/her instructions on how to do so after payment.

 

We'd be happy just to have that option moved down to where it is supposed to be asap.. or to be given quick instruction/code so that we can implement it ourselves.. as long as it passes the right order total onto Google that's enough (for us) for now.

 

 

Neil

[MACscr]

Yep, Google doesn't want to be included in your checkout process, it requires that it be treated as a checkout option of its own.

 

In order to comply, you either need to have a Google button next to the product, or, in step 4, you'd need to have "or checkout via <Google Checkout Image> right beneath the "Click to Continue" button.

 

Just listing Google Checkout in the "Payment Methods" area alone is enough for them to hassle you.. it is not meant to be a payment method, it is a checkout that accepts certain payment methods.

 

If you're not accepting tons of daily orders... for example, if you sell primarily yearly packages.. just adding the button and passing the order details onto google without WHMCS account creation shouldn't be a huge hassle. Just create the account for the customer, or send him/her instructions on how to do so after payment.

 

We'd be happy just to have that option moved down to where it is supposed to be asap.. or to be given quick instruction/code so that we can implement it ourselves.. as long as it passes the right order total onto Google that's enough (for us) for now.

 

 

Neil

 

Well, thats good enough information for me not to use it. Sounds like a horrible experience almost as bad as 2checkout.

[Neil Hennigan]

When I say "supposed to be", I don't mean to imply that there aren't other ways to comply.. but this seems the simplest and most immediate, and it's also how most retailers seem to be handling the process.

 

Pretty much every retailer's website I've checked handles it this way.. it seems that it's "OK" to bring customers to the point of putting items in the cart, but at that point they have to be given a "one-click" way of completing the transaction via Google without having to enter any information on your website.

 

You're right, MACscr, it's going to be a pain if you count on the account creation and automation, and it is certainly not for everyone. For us it makes sense because we do a great deal of PPC advertising and that big blue checkout button showing under our Google ads does make us stand out a bit from the crowd. I should note, though, that this is for our non-hosting services. We have yet to accept a hosting order via Google Checkout, and I'm not particularly looking forward to it.

 

Neil