When I got to the office this morning I checked to see if Google Checkout was working, and was happy to see that it was. And it’s not in beta either! I started looking through all the information (there’s a lot), glanced at the API information, and was generally feeling really great about the service. It’s really cheap too, at only 2% plus $0.20 USD per transaction. Actually, you get up to ten times your AdWords spend processed for free, which is pretty damn sweet.
And then, I came across this:
At this time, only merchants with a U.S. address and bank account can process transactions through Google Checkout. We look forward to offering more options in the future.
What?! Are you kidding me? I have an AdWords account, why can’t I create a Google Checkout account? Indulge me while I get on my soapbox for a moment…
I am sick of being treated like a third world country! We’re right next door! I’m as proud a Canadian as the next guy, but I’m not afraid to admit that we’re practically another state. Is it really so hard for Google (or any company for that matter, they aren’t the only ones) to make their services work for Canadians right from the get-go? I mean seriously, there cannot be that much work involved to make it happen.
So while I think Google Checkout looks great, and I’m happy that PayPal has some competition, I’m pissed that it doesn’t support Canada.
Read: Google Checkout
MasterMaq's Blog 
Mack:
We have the same problem processing Amex in Canada. they can set-up a Canadian account, but for us to accpet USD, we need a US address and Bank Account. There must be a banking standard or federal regulation. Don’t get me wrong, it stinks, as we process in USD, from Canada, and would like to offer Amex as a payment option in the US.
Thanks for the comment Chris. I guess you guys do your own transaction processing then, right? PayPal handles the processing for us, so that’s how we accept Amex.
Yeah we do the same with PayPal, however I suspect that many Axex cardholders will not use Paypal, or understand that the option exists for that matter.
This also irritates me bigtime. I’m a Canadian and wanted to drop GayPal like a bad habit, but I can’t because these jerks are supporting the USA.
Google, you guys suck.
Amazon launched another web service on Friday, called the Amazon Flexible Payments Service (FPS). The…
I signed up with Google Checkout as a buyer so I could sell on Ioffer.com. I found Google Checkout really confusing and difficult to navigate. It’s definitely not “user friendly”. Unfortunately, I couldn’t complete my “Seller Preferences” part of Ioffer.com, so I basically canceled both services and stayed with tried and true PayPal, using a different auction site too. Google Checkout is a huge mess!