Hi @MARORTIN
I am surprised that being so active you are not aware of the Street View trusted Help page, where all the information about what you are asking for were made available immediately.
In any case The Street View Trusted badge will be retired at the end of the month, so everything will be different. The technology is evolving day by day, and so is the verification process.
The business provider program was closed long time ago for a lot of good reasons.
There are issues with a lot of agencies that are presenting themselves as “Google”, and there are a lot of fake claimed Listings in Google Maps, so I can fully understand the need for Google to change the verification process, to avoid the scams in Google maps.
This doesn’t mean that you will no longer able to sell your Virtual Tour, but you cannot do this “as a Local Guide”, because Local Guides are not paid.
So I am also surprised that, as a provider of services in Google Maps, you are not aware of the Local Guides Program Terms and Conditions :
There are two points in there that you should carefully consider:
- “Organizations, brands, and businesses are not eligible for the Program. If you offer services for hire (such as marketing yourself as a Street View trusted provider), you are not allowed to bundle such services with your Local Guide membership ”.
- “Do not use the Local Guides logo, pin, or any other Google imagery in any of your online or offline materials without expressed written permission.”
A more extended explanation can be found in How to be a Street View trusted photographer while also being a Local Guide
A fundamental reading for you is also the Create and Publish your own Street View images, where it is clearly explained that "Some Google programs - notably Local Guides - require that you participate in a non-professional capacity (e.g., that you are not compensated for the content that you contribute). "
According to what you said here there is a problem
And the second problem is this one
You should leave the Local Guides program with this account, or delete all the paid contributions (that doesn’t have any sense, for a business)