Mobile wallets have long promised to simplify everyday payments by giving consumers a secure and convenient way to store payment credentials and loyalty cards in one place. As digital commerce has expanded, technology companies have increasingly viewed mobile wallets as strategic tools for strengthening customer relationships and extending their ecosystems beyond online shopping. Amazon Wallet represented an early step in Amazon’s broader effort to expand its presence in digital payments.
In a move that’s only surprising for how long it has taken, Amazon recently launched the Amazon Wallet on the Amazon Appstore and on Google Play.
Amazon’s first attempt at its own mobile wallet application, designed for use at the point-of-sale, has made a quiet debut on the Amazon Appstore and on Google Play. However, the current implementation of the new “Amazon Wallet” application is fairly barebones – it doesn’t yet support mobile payments or the ability to store credit cards or debit cards. Instead, the wallet only offers the ability to store and organize your gift cards and other store and loyalty cards.
Currently, the wallet only allows users to load their gift and loyalty cards onto the app. It’s reasonable to believe that bigger things are in the offing. Amazon already markets something called the ‘Pay with Amazon’ service, which allows online merchants to let customers sign in using their Amazon account and pay with the card they have on file.
Separately, Amazon also offers a Visa branded Credit Card in partnership with Chase. The Amazon Wallet could be the last piece of the puzzle that brings together the various moving parts of Amazon’s payments play. Millions of consumers already trust Amazon with their payment card information. If Amazon can leverage this trust to get consumers to use the Amazon Wallet to pay for everyday transactions at retail stores, this could be the tipping point in mobile payments in the US that always seems so close, yet so far.
Although Amazon Wallet initially launched with limited functionality, it demonstrated Amazon’s long-term interest in becoming a larger player in the payments ecosystem. As consumers grow more comfortable using digital wallets for shopping, loyalty programs, and payments, integrated wallet experiences are likely to play an increasingly important role in both online and in-store commerce.
Overview by Nikhil Joseph, Analyst, Emerging Technology Advisory Services
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