Some Web publishers aren’t crazy about Google, a company they accuse of building a lucrative ad business often on the backs of their content. But they suddenly like Google a lot more than Apple.
That’s because Google has unveiled Google One Pass, an online payment system for content that will allow Web publishers to sell subscriptions. According to The New York Times, unlike Apple’s new subscription service product, which takes a 30 percent commission, Google One Pass only takes 10 percent.
Google’s announcement is focused on current Web content, not subscription-based apps geared for tablets and mobile devices. But since Google allows publishers to funnel customers to their own Web sites to sell subscriptions—something Apple does not allow—Google One Pass could emerge as a popular and viable alternative to publishers looking to sell app subscriptions once the coming wave of Android-powered iPad competitors arrive on the market.
“We are allowing the publishers to transact directly with their customers,” Google spokesperson Jeannie Hornung told the Times.
