Digital Money World

Amazon Payments Is Now Live

by Mark on August 3rd, 2007

Welcome to Amazon Payments. It has a lot of competition like PayPal, Google Checkout and all those online merchant account services but with Amazon.com’s built in global retail market, this new ‘payment processor’ is sure to be a big hit. Here is their pitch…

Amazon Payments provides you with the same trusted payment experience available on Amazon today, leveraging proven fraud detection and risk management capabilities.

• Customers can pay you with their existing Amazon.com accounts and stored credit cards in just a few clicks
• Payment information is kept secure on Amazon servers at all times
• Amazon Payments ™ is free to sign up with no startup or monthly fees of any kind
• Use Amazon payments for auctions, web stores, personal debts or anywhere else you need to get paid

Is this a new twist on e-commerce?   No, not really…with an Amazon Payments Personal Account shoppers can use their CC through their Amazon Payments account to make secure purchases from 3rd party web sites wherever Amazon Payments is accepted. Those third party web purchases, do not require you to re-enter your payment information. Just like Google Checkout.

You can also ‘enhance’ that Amazon Payments Personal Account by linking to your US bank. With this enhanced set up you can pay or receive funds from others and the dough will remain in your Amazon account. Store your funds online in this account and spend them as you shop, withdraw them to your linked bank or even an Amazon.com gift certificate.

If you are one of those merchants who sells through Amazon’s marketplace or auction you can now receive retail merchant payments via Amazon and they can make regular transfers directly to your bank. Withdrawing funds to your bank is accomplished via ACH and can take 5-7 days not including weekends or holidays.

Personal Accounts may send up to $500 per month once a credit card or verified bank account is registered in the account. Once both are registered, the sending limit may be raised or removed entirely. Business Accounts are subject to the same account limits as Personal Accounts except they are permitted to receive up to $2,000 per month once a credit card is added to the account. Amazon Payments Business Accounts are similar to Personal Accounts, with the added ability of being able to receive credit card payments. Business Accounts that consistently have $20,000 a month in credit card transactions will be required to upgrade to an Ultra Account.

3rd Party merchants (Non-Amazon web sites) can now sign up and collect payments using Amazon’s new trusted payments technology. Just like Google Checkout has done, Amazon.com is now making e-commerce super convenient for everyday credit card shoppers and online merchants. As PayPal has done for years now Amazon’s new system allows cheap and easy entry for any new e-commerce merchant.

What’s the best thing about an Amazon Payments Personal Account? If you are an existing Amazon customer, a new Amazon Payments account has already been created for you! Shop till you drop because your new account gets activated when you spend at any web site that accepts their new payment system. Easy Cheesy as I always say…on the Internet convenience is king.

Like PayPal and Google, Amazon Payments will keep your payment information private from all 3rd parties. When you make a purchase, you don’t expose your personal info. With ID theft and credit card fraud still on the rise in most countries, this type of online payment is extremely popular in today’s world.

Fees

Here is a brief general idea of their fees by method of payment, please visit their page for exact fee information and account limits. There are no fees for sending payments. However, if you receive payment through Amazon Payments, the following fees may apply:

Bank Account

• 2% of transaction value + $0.05

Credit Card

• 5% of transaction value + $0.05
• 2.9% of transaction value + $0.30 *

International Credit Card

• 6% of transaction value + $0.05
• 3.9% of transaction value + $0.30

Amazon Payments stored funds

• 20% of transaction value, minimum fee of $0.0025
• 1.5% of transaction value + $0.01

* Volume discounts apply for credit card transactions. If you have an Amazon Payments Business account in good standing and maintain a certain level of credit card transactions over a consecutive 3 month period, you can apply for a discounted credit card transaction rate. The discount rate schedule is:

• 2.5% + $.30 per transaction for payment volume from $3k-$10k
• 2.2% + $.30 per transaction for payment volume from $10k - $100k
• 1.9% + $.30 per transaction for payment volume over $100k

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POSTED IN: Boosting Online Sales, Online Payments