Amazon expands Pay with Amazon through new Global Partner Program
Amazon has announced a Global Partner Program, which seeks to expand the reach of its payments service. As a practical matter, it makes a streamlined “Pay with Amazon” expedited log-in/checkout more widely available to a broader array of small merchants. Consumers will be able to pay with credit cards stored in their Amazon accounts on […]
Amazon has announced a Global Partner Program, which seeks to expand the reach of its payments service. As a practical matter, it makes a streamlined “Pay with Amazon” expedited log-in/checkout more widely available to a broader array of small merchants.
Consumers will be able to pay with credit cards stored in their Amazon accounts on third-party websites and mobile apps. Depending on how widely adopted it is, the move could eat into PayPal’s leadership position. Especially in a mobile context, users would rather not enter credit card information and related details for each transaction because of the simple awkwardness of doing so, as well as security concerns.
The Amazon brand is widely trusted and will lend credibility and confidence to mobile and online transactions where the retailer or merchant is obscure or does not have an existing relationship with the customer.
Currently, participation in Amazon Pay is by invitation in the US, UK, Germany and Japan. It will also be integrated with e-commerce platform providers such as Shopify, PrestaShop, Future Shop and others. There are no setup or other recurring fees, but there is a 2.9-percent (plus $0.30) transaction fee. That’s generally competitive with other payments platforms.
Fingerprint-enabled Apple Pay is rumored to coming soon to mobile websites. Google shuttered its merchant payments platform, Checkout, in late 2013, and has replaced it with Android Pay. Apple has more than 600 million credit cards on file. Amazon has more than 300 million global active users. PayPal has something less than 200 million active accounts. All of these systems seek to remove friction from the consumer (mobile) e-commerce experience.
Consider paying for WiFi on a plane when you have to entire your credit card and related details vs. logging in with Amazon credentials or using your thumb with Apple Pay. The availability of a simpler payment method is likely going to make the difference and ensure the conversion.
A range of levels and benefits are available to participating Amazon Pay merchants. Status tiers include Premier Partner, Certified Partner and Certified Developer. Benefits include “account management, planning support, technical resources and training, Partner directory listing, Partner designation with exclusive logos, and certain Partners may also be eligible for co-marketing activities.”
As more e-commerce transitions to mobile, developers will need to offer at least two of these expedited and familiar payment platforms if they hope to remain competitive and convert users. Other than major retailers and a handful of apps, users will abandon mobile transactions if the checkout process is too cumbersome.
Indeed, it’s starting to become clear that there will be a few key payments platforms that consumers trust and use widely. And those will probably be PayPal, Amazon, Apple and Google.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.
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