Google Changes Mobile Payment Direction, Focusing on Wallet

Google is tucking its Google Checkout service into its Google Wallet.

Oddly, it announced this yesterday, alongside major news of its Google Music launch (CP: Google Music to rival iTunes, keep users longer in Google-controlled spaces), making it more of a non-announcement, really.

Google Checkout was an easy way to pay for apps in the Android Market, but Wallet (CP: Google Wallet launches with Visa, sort of), said Google, will now handle that and more.

"We’re also starting to integrate Google Wallet as the payment method on Android Market, YouTube, Google+ Games and many other Google sites," Google shared in a blog post. It added that if you add a Citi MasterCard account to the Google Wallet mobile app, it'll also be available for use with Google Wallet online.

How do Google Checkout fans make the switch? They don't. Google's handled it all. The next time a user signs into Checkout, the account with automatically be transitioned to Google Wallet. Merchants, too, can relax. Google's made the switcheroo, and early next year — after the holiday craziness has subsided — it'll work to get them new logos.