Amazon is taking on PayPal with a new service that lets online shoppers use their Amazon log-in details to make purchases on other e-commerce sites:


Source & Copyright©2013 -  Amazon Inc.

Sites that sign up to the 'Login and Pay with Amazon' system will get access to widgets and APIs so that they can add a button at the checkout which gives customers the option to pay by entering their Amazon usernames and passwords.

The move is a direct challenge to PayPal, which is a leader in online checkout. With 215 million active customers, Amazon says that the system benefits customers by eliminating the hassle of having to register at multiple sites, remembering ever-growing numbers of logins.

Merchants benefit because customers are less likely to abandon purchases, while the system also helps replace 'guest checkouts' with 'recognised customers', meaning that firms can track orders and purchase history detail, and offer special discounts. Critically, Amazon like PayPal does not share card details with participating retailers. 

Charges
Amazon charge a fee for each transaction, although there is no monthly charge and free fraud protection is thrown in.

Apple
In June 2013, Apple announced that they had 500+ million iTune accounts (each with a valid credit or debit card number attached) and since then have been adding 500K accounts per day. Apple has been focusing on how to monetize these accounts. Already users can pay with their iTunes account at Apple stores. It a simple step to make this facility available in other non-Apple stores and on-line.

Many iPhones users also have iTunes accounts. It is quite clear that Apple will bringing the payment power of their iTunes account holders to mobile payments and payments on the Internet. It is when, not if.

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How will your bill collection and Internet payment collection system cater for these new payment systems? The number of account holders and the purchasing power of Apple and Amazon customers is so great; you cannot ignore this development. Apple’s solution will not be cheap, but it will work and expand your potential customers enormously.