Amazon.com Offers a “Pay Now” Widget
In ecommerce, the goal is always to make things more convenient for the customer. This is why so many ecommerce Web sites have begun accepting PayPal. And why PayPal began allowing purchases on ecommerce Web sites that are not integrated with the program. And then, of course, Google wanted a piece of the “easy pay” action and Google Checkout was born.
But what about Amazon.com? Until now, the ecommerce giant has been keeping its payment system on its own site. No longer. The Amazon Web Services blog recently announced that it is joining the ecommerce payments fray:
The new “Pay Now” widget builds on top of the base-level payment functionality offered by the Amazon Flexible Payments Service (FPS) to make things very easy for web developers who would like to accept Amazon Payments on their site. Customers can pay by clicking on a Pay Now button or by selecting Amazon Payments as their payment method.
The idea is to make it easier for the customer to choose more options. Consumers are increasingly worried about the security of making credit card payments online. Services like PayPal, Google Checkout and now Amazon Payments allow customers to limit where their financial information is stored, as well as limiting how many people “see” it. No more giving out credit cards online. Just sign up with a payment service or two, and you are covered.
Amazon.com is showing that it is ready to continue to diversify its offerings. And the company obviously wants to join the ranks of the ecommerce elite in terms of accepting payments. Amazon is clearly attempting to enter the market and compete with PayPal and Google for users of their payment plans. And because Amazon Payments uses widgets, they are easy to set up on ecommerce Web sites, offering solid design and usability.
Google Checkout has been slammed for customer usability issues and PayPal has issues with the buyer claims when items are bought on eBay. If Amazon.com’s “Pay Now” widget can address these problems, and truly make things easier for both the customer and the ecommerce businesses that use Amazon Payments, the online giant is poised to give both Google Checkout and PayPal a real run for their money.
Tags: ecommerce, ecommerce businesses, Google Checkout, Amazon.com pay now widget,
ecommerce Web sites, PayPal, Amazon payments
Posted by Miranda | December 19, 2007
Linda Bustos December 21st, 2007
Great post, Miranda. The alternative payments space is getting more and more competitive, everyone wants a piece of the pie. I wouldn’t be surprised if Facebook (soon to be conducting a Facebook payments beta) tries to move in too. I wouldn’t put it past them considering the Beacon Project.
Miranda December 21st, 2007
And how! These types of payment are popular among consumers, and the providers get in on the action, without having to do a great deal. We’ll have to keep an eye on Facebook — the company seems to really be doing its best to monetize the brand.
Google Checkout Catches Up With PayPal :: Varien :: Open Source eCommerce Development and Consulting Firm January 10th, 2008
[…] Last week, I posted on how the battle between alternative payment methods Google Checkout and PayPal are about to find a new competitor from Amazon.com with its new “Pay Now” widget. But this isn’t the only story for Google Checkout and PayPal. After PayPal soundly beat Google Checkout during the end of October and the beginning of November, Google Checkout is back in the running. […]