The retail giant Amazon announced that it is launching Amazon Cash, a service that allows consumers to add cash to their Amazon.com balance by showing a barcode to the participating retailer.
Using it, the consumer can have the cash applied immediately to their Amazon account. What this means, Amazon is making things easier for consumers to use its marketplace, without the needs to have bank accounts or credit cards.
With Amazon Cash, a cashier shop can scan consumers' barcode, which they can print it out or on their mobile devices. Consumers can then pay in-store, and that amount will be added to the consumers' Amazon account balance.
One barcode wor'ks on all locations. Amazon is not charging any fees for using Cash, and the funds will be available "immediately after the cashier hands you a receipt for your transaction."
The service supports adding any amount between $15 and $500 in a single transaction, according to Amazon.
Amazon is releasing Cash to brick-and-mortar retailers across the U.S., including CVS Pharmacy, Speedway, Sheetz, Kum & Go, D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare Supermarkets, and VG’s Grocery. Other stores are being added as the service expands.
With Amazon Cash, the company wants to ease transaction. For people that want to buy goods, it has been difficult for them to transfer cash directly to their Amazon account. Most people would use Amazon gift cards, instead, or pay in cash.
While Cash is certainly an improvement to the flow, Amazon isn't the first that introduce a service that find ways around banks.
PayPal, for example, has a similar system called My Cash that allows people to add funds to their online PayPal account using cash. It also has a barcode-only service, powered by Green Dot. The similarities between the two continue as both PayPal and Cash are also meant to appeal to the same general demographic who may not be online shoppers, or those who pay with cash, or don't have a bank account/debit card/credit card.
Amazon Cash is an advantage to Amazon as the service should appeal to anyone who just want to deposit some cash to their Amazon account without hassle.