Google Inc.'s YouTube now lets Google Wallet users make voluntary payments to publishers on the video site through the addition of a "support" button.
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YouTube artists must enable the new Fan Funding feature to receive payments, and Google takes a base fee plus 5% of the amount, according to a description on Google's website. The base fee varies by country; in the U.S., it is 21 cents. The service is also available in Mexico, Japan and Australia.
Many YouTube artists use similar donation-based services such as Patreon to request donations from fans. Patreon's popularity among YouTube artists surged after a crackdown on ad revenue in January.
Google previewed the Fan Funding feature in a May blog post. Fan Funding payments are non-refundable, and can be made from the YouTube Android app or a desktop browser.