Checkout by Amazon Means Never Entering Your Credit Card Information Again

Published
Angela Colley
BY:
Contributing Writer

Love shopping online but hate having to enter your name, billing address, and credit card every time? You could checkout via PayPal, or you could opt to use the new payment system from Amazon: Checkout by Amazon. The recently released checkout system works a lot like PayPal, but Checkout by Amazon doesn't redirect users to a new webpage, and instead offers immediate access to users' Amazon address book and payment methods directly on merchant checkout pages.

How Checkout by Amazon Works

Checkout by Amazon works much like other third-party payment systems: a "Pay with Amazon" button will appear on participating merchants' checkout pages alongside "Pay by Credit Card" and "Checkout with PayPal." By choosing "Pay with Amazon," shoppers will only have to enter their Amazon credentials to access any stored payment methods and contact information linked to their account. Opting to pay with Amazon eliminates the need to enter any further credit card or payment information on a merchant's checkout page.

Another advantage of Checkout by Amazon is its elimination of payment redirection; PayPal (and Amazon's former system "Checkout with Amazon") redirects users to a separate payment website where an additional login is required to finalize payment. After the payment is processed, the user is again redirected back to the merchant site for confirmation.

"In the past when using alternative payments solutions, consumers would leave a merchant's site right after clicking the checkout button, a confusing process known as redirection. These enhancements to Checkout by Amazon reflect the feedback we've received from merchants who want to offer Amazon.com customers the convenience of using their account information with a more streamlined buying experience," says Baris Cetinok, General Manager of Amazon Payments.

Who Will Use Checkout by Amazon?

At the moment the services offered by Checkout by Amazon are limited to paying for goods and services and making donations through participating merchant sites. Some of PayPal's features, like sending money to a friend or gifting someone cash are not supported by Checkout by Amazon. However, Amazon is still banking on its "tens of millions" of registered users to make the payment system as popular as the mega retailer itself.

The proliferation of Checkout by Amazon is also dependent upon merchant participation. Presently, more than 30 merchants offer customers the option to pay with Amazon, including Ace Hardware, J&R, PetCo, Wet Seal, and more. More recently, GoGo Inflight Internet, which provides daily and monthly access WiFi on aircrafts, announced its participation with Checkout by Amazon. While its subscriber base is growing, Amazon will be playing catchup to PayPal in the foreseeable future namely because, while PayPal only sells financial services, Amazon itself is also a provider of goods and may be seen instead as competition. However, niche sites and smaller vendors with exclusive merchandise likely won't see a conflict with offering its customers the ability to pay with Amazon.

So DealNews readers, do you plan on using Checkout by Amazon for some of your holiday shopping, or will you be sticking to PayPal? Or, perhaps you don't really mind entering your credit card info and paying a merchant directly? Tell us in the comments below.

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Angela Colley
Contributing Writer

Angela Colley has covered everything from money saving technology to how the Mayans might affect your savings. She's appeared on publications like MainStreet and MSN Money. You can follow her on Twitter @angelancolley.
DealNews may be compensated by companies mentioned in this article. Please note that, although prices sometimes fluctuate or expire unexpectedly, all products and deals mentioned in this feature were available at the lowest total price we could find at the time of publication (unless otherwise specified).

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7 comments
WRGuffey
I use Paypal
November 22, 2013
GiaHuy
When was the last time the writer of this article, Angela, made a purchase on ebay and paid by PayPal? Perhaps years ago or something; otherwise, she wouldn't write this article if she saw that HUGE button offered to link both accounts, for a quick purchase. Hmmmmmm.....
October 21, 2013
GiaHuy
It's totally untrue. If you've linked your ebay account with your paypal account (on the computer you use most, most likely your personal computer or laptop), you only do this once, it will give you the option to link at where you're ready to make the payment, and you don't have to go to separate site to process your credit card purchase and switch back to ebay. I've paid ebay like this since it offered for couple years now.
October 21, 2013
tazz49
Amazon does not handle cash payments. So unless you want to use a credit card you will still need to use PayPal. My money is with PayPal.
October 18, 2013
Lindsay Sakraida (DealNews)
@ Greg the Gruesome Fixed.
October 18, 2013
Greg the Gruesome
Wow. Lots of minor writing errors in this piece. But apparently there's one factual error:

>More recently, GoGo Inflight Internet, which provides daily and monthly
>access WiFi on aircrafts, announced its participation with Amazon Payments.

Amazon Payments? It left a lasting impression on BWRye below, but everywhere else in this piece it's called Checkout by Amazon.

Speaking of whom...

@BWRye

You can charge a purchase to a credit card with PayPal.
October 18, 2013
BWRye
I've used Pay Pal for several years, and have been quite satisfied with this service. I will continue to use Pay Pal, however I will use Amazon Payments if Pay Pal is not available and Amazon Payments is available. Furthermore, I will use Amazon Payments for purchases where I would prefer to have the cost charged to one of my credit cards rather than my checking account.
October 18, 2013