Google is developing a new Web Monetization feature for Chrome that could really change the way we pay for things online

Google’s monopolistic throne in online search and related advertising matters may have just been hit with a major blow, but that’s just one type of digital market and Google (of all entities) knows that there are plenty of others out there – y’all ever heard of Patreon? 

Now, Google is reportedly developing a new ‘Web Monetization’ functionality for its Chrome browser, and with it potentially comes a whole wave of changes to how payments can be made online. 

On the internet, many websites that exist for commercial purposes are able to make money through ads and subscriptions. To us, many of these transactions at least have the facade of being direct, sometimes bar a processing fee. But facilitating these payment processes also costs a pretty penny due to intermediary services and additional costs that can occur during the digital payment process. This is often why there are eyebrow-raising situations where fees end up accounting for a large chunk of the money exchanged. 

Don’t panic – here’s Google’s proposal 

This isn’t the only major push by Google to offer (and in Google’s heart of hearts, replace) a part of the status quo for browsers with its own Google-led alternative. In a new support document published on the Google Chrome Platform Status site, Google explains that Web Monetization is a new technology that will enable website owners “to receive micro payments from users as they interact with their content.”

Google states its intention is noble, writing that Web Monetization is designed to be a new option for webmasters and publishers to generate revenue in a direct manner that’s not reliant on ads or subscriptions. 

Google explains that with Web Monetization, users would pay for content while they consume it. It’s also added a new HTML link element for websites to add to their URL address to indicate to the Chrome browser that the website supports Web Monetization. 

If this is set correctly in the website’s URL, for websites that facilitate users setting up digital wallets on it, when a person visits that website, a new monetization session would be created (for that person) on the site. I’m immediately skeptical about monetizing people’s attention even further than it already is, but Google reassures us that visitors will have control over the whole process, like the choice of sites they want to reward in this way and how much money they want to spend. 

Further, Ghacks explains that this requires websites to have a mechanism that can add funds to a digital wallet, and a mechanism that can manage the sites that each person chooses to support financially. Then, Chrome’s Web Monetization will take care of the rest, but if you want to really dig into the details, you can check out the technical documentation. 

A new way to drain your wallet online? 

Maybe I’m jumping the gun with my immediate skepticism of this plan, as Ghacks also notes that this could be a more direct way to make micro-payments by taking out the intermediate points that spawn additional fees. This benefit would only multiply if you use it for multiple payments, as it removes the requirement that users must pay fees every time they make a payment. 

The need for payment service providers will still exist, but it does look like the overall costs of doing business online could decrease with Web Monetization. Of course, whether the businesses that sell goods and services decide to pass on the savings to users is another matter entirely.

There’s also the fact that we’re still learning about what it will look like and there are many uncertainties in that regard. If regulatory bodies smell an issue with it, it could go the way of Google’s Privacy Sandbox (or meet an even worse fate), and even after that Google might lose faith in it for some unrelated reason – remember Google Plus? 

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