14 DAY TRIAL // While Google may be tightening its focus on core products, it's still experimenting with various ways of expanding and promoting the use of its products. The latest is a very interesting approach, it will be issuing out credit cards to select AdWords customers to be used for online advertising on Google alone.
The credit card will be fairly standard, but will offer a low annual percentage rate of just 8.99 percent.
Google is only starting a pilot program now, but the idea is to enable its customers to buy ads when they need them, not just when they can afford them.
The AdWords credit card is a MasterCard which will be backed by World Financial Capital Bank, according to Reuters which revealed the new product.
Google will start sending invitations to select customers in the US, based on several criteria. The company will evaluate the customers' credit ratings based on its own data and with the help of an outside company.
Customers contacted with the offer, mostly small businesses in the first stage, will be able to sign up for the low-rate credit card and they'll get varying minimum and maximum credit figures.
Google isn't saying how many people or companies will be allowed to join the program at first, but the company, first and foremost, wants to see if the program works, i.e. people spend more on advertising, and who will benefit the most from it.
It's an interesting approach for and online advertising company, but it's hardly the first such specialized credit card. Even online retailers like Amazon.com offer a similar type of card.
It should be interesting to see whether Google will manage to determine its customers to sign up for an AdWords-exclusive card, but perhaps it will be a welcome move since it's getting harder to get credit these days, especially for small businesses.