Amazon Extends Payment Service to Mobile Devices

amazon payment service/mobile

Amazon.com has launched a new service allowing people to make purchases on third-party mobile Web sites using the information from their Amazon accounts.

The Amazon Mobile Payments Service provides merchants and mobile developers a set of APIs (application programming interfaces) to process payments on mobile devices. It also includes the convenience of the giant retailer's 1-Click checkout system.

"We're pleased to make it easier for our Amazon Payments developers and merchants to extend mobile payment options and the ease of 1-Click checkout to their customers," said Howard Gefen, director of Amazon Mobile Payments, in a statement. The move could benefit mobile e-commerce sites by removing a potential barrier to purchases by millions of Amazon customers by letting them use payment information from their existing accounts.

In connection with the announcement, mobile app developer and distributor Handmark said it's launching Amazon Mobile Payments on its own main desktop and mobile sites, and plans to extend the service across other mobile storefronts it runs in the near future. Handmark operates about 50 mobile content and app stores overall.

Paying by credit card will still be the default option for new Handmark customers, but they can choose each time they pay between credit card, Google Checkout, PayPal, and now, Amazon Mobile Payments. They can change the default choice to Amazon.

"When providing customers with easy, one-click payment options such as carrier billing, we have seen sales more than double when compared to channels without that option. We anticipate the Amazon Mobile Payment option will have a similar affect providing a fast, trusted payment option," says a Handmark spokesperson.

While m-commerce is still far from mainstream, the new Amazon payment service could open up users to shopping by cell phone, according to William Ho, research director for wireless services at technology research firm Current Analysis. "Any transaction will require data and it's likely that those early adopters will be smartphone users or customers who have a data plan," he said.

Amazon also said companies that already offer Amazon Payments on their PC-based sites can add the mobile payment option without any additional back-end technology development.

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