Barrons is all breathless about Amazon getting ready to step up its game in the payments arena. Eric Savits writes:
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Brown asserts in a research note this afternoon that Amazon “may soon launch a PayPal-esque Payments service for use by consumers and merchants across the Web, potentially siphoning growth and/or profit from eBay’s crown jewel.” Brown says that Amazon could launch such a service as soon as late summer or early fall of this year.
But wait. Amazon already competes with eBay’s PayPal. It’s called Amazon Payments and it lets you:
—send money to anyone’s email address or mobile phone.
—make online purchases at other participating Websites
—buy Amazon products using your mobile phone.
It launched the current version of Amazon Payments last year. Also, last year Amazon launched its Flexible Payment Service as a Web service in limited beta so that developers could integrate Amazon’s checkout into their own sites (customers use their Amazon login, and the Website gets paid by Amazon, after a fee).
The article notes that both of these services exist, but does not explain how Amazon could go beyond their current offerings. So it is not exactly clear what further steps Amazon will take to beef up its current Amazon Payments service into a full-fledged competitor to PayPal. In terms of functionality, it is already pretty close. It even looks the same as PayPal. (Click on screen shot above).
Even if it does push the service harder, Amazon won’t find it easy to displace PayPal, which is deeply entrenched as one of the preferred payment mechanisms on the Web. But competition does keep everyone honest. So good luck to Amazon.
If they didnt charge a fee for doing absolutely nothing, I would switch. I mean come on, it doesnt cost Paypal anything to transfer money, and yet they bite you on the dick whenever you use it.
I love my PayPal. If anyone’s got a bank account with ATM card, cash back on purchases, and better interest with no lower limits and easier methods of online transfer I’d love to hear it. I’d love free intra-PayPal transfers too, but compared to every other financial service I use, PayPal is dirt cheap. They also don’t have such a thing as an overdraft, which apparently banks just can’t sort out.
amazon needs to rebrand the name “amazon payments” sucks
You are absolutely right Josh.
We need a fair alternative solution.
Probably just a revitalization of the existing payments product, which will offer all that Google checkout offers so beautifully.
Anyway, anything is better than EBAY, that company going down the tubes. Got a problem? Get screwed? TOO BAD. Their “customer service” is a wasteland of templatized robotic auto-replies generated by ex-food service employees.
There is so much spam around Ebay and paypal that I always worry when I use them. On the other hard, amazon is a lot of more reliable: I mean amazon itself, not others selling on amazon.
You might want to check into it further before comparing PayPayl to legitimate financial institutions. You will never see Bank of America (or even ING) freezing your account and not allowing you to withdrawl money because of indirect contact with a fradulent Ebay/PayPal user.
HAHAHA!
Wow, are you guys serious (article writer & comment persons) about what is written here? We are using the FPS beta program for a web app we are doing and it has features 6ayPal just can’t touch. You seriously need to read the docs, put on your thinking cap and get creative, this service is going to STOMP PayPal in the developer web space! FPS = freedom, believe that!
- FPS beta user
I need a damn Ebay killer. Paypal works just fine. Ebay is the one that needs some good competition.
If Amazon is going to enter the market.
My minimums for use are the paypal features that I love. Subscriptions, Recurring payments and Instant Payment Notification.
I would love to have a web-based credit card. Instead of punching in long strings of numbers, I should only need to provide username-password. And it should be the reverse of the paypal model where you maintain a positive balance–instead work exactly like a credit card and take monthly payments. Security handled in a “pass-back-and-forth” way much like how OpenID works today. That way the merchat never gets your login info like they do with your credit card info today.
I could be wrong but didn’t Microsoft have something that was suppose to be a Paypal killer, but it has yet to come out?
Really time to say Good Bye to PayPal. Another Ebay company riddled with GREED, excessive fees and bad service.
Welcome Amazon. You are certainly needed
The Amazon payments web service has fantastic functionality.., main issue with them is that require users of the service to have an Amazon account.
They really need to make it completely white label.
Another new alternative is TipJoy.., they are using their micro payment/tipping platform and a new API that will allow not only the one cent style aggregation, but a completely white label solution.
Still early but check them out: http://tipjoy.com
Wayne, Q dub,
Dudes, FPS does all that and more. It’s all about the Caller, Sender, Recipient payment flow guys! Look that shit up in the docs! Thinking caps remember!
“FPS, one payment service to own them all!”
Amazon and Google should work together to challenge PayPal.
oh my gosh, Amazon FPS has given us the hardest time! sure it does more than paypal, but it creates way too many extra steps for users to get through it. it’s like an obstacle course. one payment service is great, but no one is going to use it if you have to jump through hoops to get there. clearly it’s in beta for a reason.
Paypal is excellent, and the charge is cheaper than traditional ones. Of course, cheaper is better. More competitions are welcome.
Hello,
What is the %age or cost for each transaction charged by AmazonPayments?
I don’t see any where?
How it compares to paypal 2.9% + 30 cents.
Rgds,
Kris
Got it. I am not sure if it’s correct or not. It says Amazon FPS
Pricing
There are no minimum fees and no start-up charges to use Amazon FPS. In addition, use of the Amazon FPS Sandbox is free of charge.
Fees are assessed on a per-transaction basis and vary depending on the payment method used and the transaction amount:
For Transactions >= $10:
* 1.5% + $0.01 for Amazon Payments balance transfers
* 2.0% + $0.05 for bank account debits
* 2.9% + $0.30 for credit card
For Transactions < $10:
* 1.5% + $0.01 for Amazon Payments balance transfers
* 2.0% + $0.05 for bank account debits
* 5.0% + $0.05 for credit card
For Amazon Payments balance transfers < $0.05:
* 20% of the transaction amount, with a minimum fee of $0.0025
Qualified developers can apply for the following monthly volume discounts for credit card transactions:
* 2.5% + $0.30 per transaction for payment volume from $3K- $10K
* 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction for payment volume from $10K – $100K
* 1.9% + $0.30 per transaction for payment volume over $100K
I think if you compare Paypal Vs Google checkout Vs Amazon payments.
Google checkout is cheap. (If you use adwords it’s much cheaper).
Amazon prices look similar to paypal.
Rgds,
Kris
Hello fellow shopping cart Geeks. I think this may be the perfect venue to market my own PAYPAL killer
It’s called Shoptaxi, you buy we fly. http://www.shoptaxi.com
I’m with Silicon Valley dropout……It’s all in the branding…Paypal sounds cool
Amazon payments not so much.
My domain and branding strategy are both currently for sale to the highest bidder.
shoptaxi@gmail.com
Here’s to hoping that Amazon, or Google, or somebody puts an end to PayPal’s anti-consumer practices. I look forward to the day that PayPal enters the deadpool.
If the Amazon Payments checkout experience is anything like the Amazon checkout on Target, sign me up. Makes me wonder if they’re signing up more big-name stores for that sort of thing.
not sure what the problem we are discussing.
PayPal is an unique space and they have mastered it. they have terrific products, global presence, and offer so many currencies.
amazon payments is so so so small. i wonder if they even can gie volume discounts. their FPS is cool.
but payments is not one of those social networks. security, piracy etc need to be top notch.
it is good to have competition. paypal is the leader, amazon and google are followers
Paypal works fine for me.
wake up folks. Amazon made a $140 million investment in Bill Me Later back in December. BML is the PayPal killer. put in your birthdate and the last for digits of your social and bang – instant credit. It’s the easiest payment service on the web and Amazon loves it.
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Any competition against Paypal is welcome.
You also have Revolution Money Exchange which is trying to compete with PayPal.
http://prosperl...tion-money.html
FPS would be perfect for us if it allowed anonymous credit card acceptance (no sending folks off to CBUI for a one time payment).
I think paypal have two problems,
First, its fee is too expensive to small unit price saler.
Second, Paypal put all risk to the saler. it only trust to luck when you meet fraud customer.
if Amazon resolve the two problems, I think it will win!
Daniel Buchner: No, it isn’t very good, I’ve been in on the Beta for a while, one issue is, it’s an all inclusive service, the other is, they should just accept PayPal, I don’t need to be managing two accounts with my money when I could be managing one, Amazon is just hurting itself with this childish nonsense.
I refuse to use eBay just because there is no guarantee on what I’m buying, as someone said before their customer support is a wasteland, because making people return a product or be true to their word is impossible.
As for PayPal, overall it’s a faster, easier service, and the Beta definitely has a flaws, but we’ll see, I likely won’t use it anyhow when it hits public release.
Interesting times…