Google, others chiming in on micropayments

A number of organizations, including Google, Microsoft and IBM began floating micropayment plans in response to the Newspaper Association of America’s request for proposals on ways to easily charge for online news.

Google’s proposal described an online system for collecting small payments — in the range of pennies — for access to individual articles or newspaper subscriptions. The system would be brought to users via Google Checkout.

“While we believe that advertising will likely remain the main source of revenue for most news content, a paid model can serve as an important source of additional revenue,” Google wrote in its proposal. “In addition, a successful paid content model can enhance advertising opportunities, rather than replace them.”

Look for more developments on micropayments in an upcoming issue of News & Tech.