Google has confirmed plans to implement Web Monetization in Chrome, allowing website owners to receive micro-payments as tips or rewards for their content as an additional way to generate revenue.
“Web Monetization is a web technology that enables website owners to receive micro payments from users as they interact with their content,” Google explained in a document spotted by BleepingComputer.
“It provides a way for content creators and website owners to be compensated for their work without relying solely on ads or subscriptions.”
Web Monetization support can be added to any web page with a rel=”monetization” HTML element, shown below.
This tag declares to the browser that the website supports web monetization and specifies the payment processor that should be used.
“Notably, Web Monetization offers two unique features—small payments and no user interaction—users are paying/tipping for the content while they consume it. It extends the HTML element by introducing rel=”monetization”, Google added.
With Web Monetization, website owners can express their interest in receiving payments, while the visitor retains complete control over how much and when a payment is made.
As the feature allows payments to happen automatically, without interaction by the user, it creates a seamless experience where those who wish to support a site, can do so while consuming their content.
Web Monetization is still a work in progress and is not yet a W3C Standard but is being developed by the Web Platform Incubator Community Group.
The goal is to gather feedback from the web community and eventually follow the W3C standards track.