What should a payment policy say for Merchant Center?

A payment policy should list the ways a shopper can actually pay, in the currency they will be charged, with every fee and deposit stated up front. Google asks for at least one conventional method, such as a card, and for the full cost to be clear before purchase. The mess starts when the policy, the footer logos and the checkout quietly drift apart.

Major5 min read

By Edvinas Ivanauskas How the guides are reviewed

Why this matters

Google’s “Follow Merchant Center guidelines to keep your account approved” page sets the floor: “Make sure at least one conventional method of payment is available to users during checkout. Example, credit card, debit card, invoicing, or payment on delivery.” A store that takes only crypto or bank transfer is below that floor, however well its payment page is written.

The Misrepresentation policy covers the wording. Under “Omission of relevant information” it rules out “Failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose the payment model and full expense that a customer will bear before and after purchase”, and its examples include costs that depend on “membership fees, contract, payment schemes, additional purchase requirement”. A deposit, an instalment plan, a card surcharge or a charge taken on dispatch rather than at order is part of the payment model, so it belongs on the page before the shopper pays, not in a surprise line at the end.

The “Checkout requirements and best practices” page adds three practical points. “All pages from the product page to the checkout page must consistently show the same currency”, unless you have currency conversion switched on. You should “Clearly show customers any mandatory fees required to purchase a product.” And third-party payment options must be “HTTPS-secure and don’t ask for unnecessary personally identifiable information, such as credit check details.”

In the US there is one more place to keep in step: the “Accepted payment methods” card under Business info in Merchant Center. Google’s page on it says “When you add payment methods to your Merchant Center account, we may show shoppers the payment methods that you accept on your products.” A wallet or pay-later provider listed there and dropped from your checkout is the same drift, just in a second place. Product Experts on Google’s Merchant Center Community list a payment policy among the policies a store should publish, and say each one “must accurately describe how the business actually operates”.

The free scan puts a product in the basket and walks your checkout as far as a shopper can go without paying. It reports a checkout that advertises only crypto or bank transfer, with no card, PayPal, invoicing or cash-on-delivery option, as a failure. Logos that promise more than the checkout delivers are covered in payment method mismatch, surprise fees in hidden checkout fees, and the full list of checkout checks sits on the misrepresentation checker.

Typical evidence

The badges you show must be the ones at checkout

Whatever payment methods, currency and fees you advertise have to be the ones a shopper actually meets at the till. The gap between “we accept” and what’s really there is pure self-inflicted drift — usually a provider you dropped and forgot to delist.

Stated on the payment page

VisaMastercardPayPalKlarna

Actually live at checkout

VisaMastercardPayPal

DriftKlarna is on the page but gone from checkout — a mismatch the rendering layer catches every time. A monthly glance keeps the two in sync.

The public signals this check looks for:

The payment page lists Klarna, Apple Pay or PayPal, and the checkout stopped offering it m…
The payment page lists Klarna, Apple Pay or PayPal, and the checkout stopped offering it months ago.
The only way to pay is bank transfer or crypto, and the policy page calls that “secure pay…
The only way to pay is bank transfer or crypto, and the policy page calls that “secure payment”.
A card surcharge, a deposit or payment taken on dispatch shows up at checkout or in the te…
A card surcharge, a deposit or payment taken on dispatch shows up at checkout or in the terms, but not in the payment policy.
The policy says you charge in pounds, while the checkout shows or charges another currency…
The policy says you charge in pounds, while the checkout shows or charges another currency.
A buy-now-pay-later badge still sits on product pages after the provider was switched off
A buy-now-pay-later badge still sits on product pages after the provider was switched off.

What it looks like once it is right

“We take Visa, Mastercard, American Express and PayPal. You pay in GBP when you place the order, and there is no card fee. Pre-orders take a 20% deposit now and the rest when the item ships.” The checkout offers the same four methods and the footer shows the same four logos.

Common mistakes

Common mistake

“We accept Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Klarna and Apple Pay.” The checkout shows card and PayPal only, a 2% card fee appears at the last step, and the policy never mentions it.

Fix checklist

Open your checkout in a private window, add one product, and go as far as the payment step. Write down every payment option you are actually offered there.
Make the payment policy page list exactly those methods, by name. Cut any method the checkout does not show today, however much you liked the logo.
If you only take bank transfer or crypto, add at least one conventional method, such as a card processor, PayPal, invoicing or payment on delivery, before you advertise on Google.
State the currency you charge in, and keep that same currency on the product page, the cart and the checkout.
Put every condition on the page in plain words: deposits, instalments, when the card is charged (at order or on dispatch), card surcharges, and what happens to a payment if an item turns out to be out of stock.
Match the footer payment logos and any pay-later badges to the checkout list. If you sell in the US and use the Accepted payment methods card under Business info in Merchant Center, make it the same list.
Link the payment policy from the footer and from checkout, and re-check all three places, policy, logos and checkout, whenever you add or remove a payment app.

A thirty-second loop, once a month

Walk your own checkout and compare what’s live against what you advertise. A recurring flag becomes a non-event.

Load the cart

Reach payment step

Advertised = live?

fix any gap

Questions merchants ask

Does Google Merchant Center require a payment policy page?

Google’s pages ask for the substance rather than a page with that name: at least one conventional payment method at checkout, and a clear disclosure of the payment model and the full cost before purchase. A short payment page linked from the footer and checkout is the tidiest way to show it, and Product Experts on the Merchant Center Community list one among the policies to publish.

Can I sell on Google Shopping if I only accept bank transfer or crypto?

Google’s Merchant Center guidelines ask you to make sure at least one conventional method of payment is available during checkout, and give credit card, debit card, invoicing and payment on delivery as examples. Add one of those before you advertise and keep the alternatives as extras. See payment method mismatch for keeping the logos honest.

Do I have to mention card surcharges or deposits?

Yes, before the shopper pays. The Misrepresentation policy rules out failing to disclose the payment model and full expense a customer will bear, and Google’s checkout requirements ask you to clearly show any mandatory fees. Put the surcharge or deposit on the payment page and on the product page or cart, not only on the payment screen.

Remediation

Risk signal

Payment details drift the quiet way: a provider switched off, a badge left behind, a fee added by an app nobody remembers installing. Each one is small; together they are the “payment model and full expense” Google asks you to disclose. Keep one list, test it at checkout, and make every page say the same thing.

PriorityAddress and document this finding as part of the store’s remediation work.

EvidenceRecord the current state before each change, apply the fix, then capture the corrected state so every change is evidenced.

Similar cases

Sources

Community guidance

Written by Product Experts, the users Google recognises for their answers on its Merchant Center Community forum. Often stricter than Google’s help pages, and not Google policy.

Last reviewed 23 Sep 2026.

That is one issue. The library documents 134.

The free scan lists what it finds on your store. The paid report adds the affected pages, captured evidence and step-by-step fixes. Start free, with no account needed.