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Amazon reinvents cash as a payment option

Categories : Cash covers a broad range of transactions, Cash is available to all users
September 24, 2019
Tags : Cash, Innovation, Online payments, Retailers, US
With the launch of Amazon PayCode, US customers now have it easier by purchasing their online shopping items with cash thanks to Amazon’s latest checkout payment option.
Guillaume Lepecq

This post is also available in: Spanish

The astronauts of Apollo 10 in the 1960s were the first to shave in space. Nasa spent a lot of time and resources investigating electric razors. However, there was always the issue of bits of floating hair, which could have caused a serious problem if they had got into the machinery. Then, someone suggested using a razor and shaving cream. This worked perfectly as the hair stuck to the cream, which could then be wiped off.

Fast forward 50 years. 23 years after it was founded, Amazon adopts a payment method that is universal, ubiquitous and efficient: cash.

Young redhead woman using her laptop at home online shopping in yellow sweater

Source: istockphoto

Amazon is making it easier for customers to pay with cash.

Amazon PayCode, already available in 19 countries around the world, launches in the U.S. and allows customers to choose Amazon PayCode at checkout and then pay for their purchase in cash at one of 15,000 Western Union locations.

Separately, Amazon Cash, which enables customers to load cash into their Amazon Balance for making online Amazon purchases, is now available in over 100,000 cash-loading locations in the US. Customers who prefer to use cash are now even more able to shop on Amazon with no fees.

In April, Amazon announced that Amazon Go Stores will accept cash alongside its cashier-less technology.

 

“Customers have told us they love the convenience of paying in cash” said Ben Volk, Director, Payments at Amazon.

“We’re embracing the complexity of a world where cash and digital payments are likely to coexist far into the future. We are providing easy solutions for customers who want access to the convenience of online shopping but prefer to pay in-person.” said

Khalid Fellahi, President, Consumer Money Transfer for Western Union.

 

Uber customers paid more than $6 billion in cash last year

Uber is another tech giant who was a late adopter of cash. In some markets, including India, Brazil, and Mexico – as well as other countries in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa – Uber allows consumers to pay cash for their rides or meal deliveries. “In 2018, cash-paid trips accounted for nearly 13% of Uber’s global gross bookings of $49.8 billion, which would be about $6.5 billion in cash payments.” reported Marketwatch.

 

Other companies such as Barzahlen, Cashly, PiP iT or Cashly also enable consumers the option to pay cash for their online shopping.

This post is also available in: Spanish

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