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Amazon Cash

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Re: Amazon Cash

#81

Post by gnicholas »

> Amazon Cash transactions are non-refundable, except as required by law. Learn more from the Amazon.com Balance and Amazon.com Gift Card Terms and Conditions.

Note that the referenced T&Cs do not specifically address the circumstances under which refunds are available. For example, in certain states (CA?) you are entitled to a cash refund after the balance of an account drops below a specified threshold ($5-10?). It would be useful to know what all of these exceptions are, so that people can make an informed decision.

Re: Amazon Cash

#82

Post by biot »

abalone wrote: post #25
chillydawg wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's more about getting to the segment of customers who do not have credit cards. There's no way amazon is paying the same fee as anyone else in the world for credit card fees, they're the single biggest e-commerce site and have almost certainly negotiated some substantial deals.

> There's no way amazon is paying the same fee as anyone else in the world for credit card fees I'm not so sure. Is there any actual evidence of large retailers negotiating down interchange fees? Even Walmart resorted to legislative pressure to regulate fees. The power of network effects is strong. Retailers are reluctant to drop support for consumer-preferred payment methods and lose that business. That gives card n…

In the late 90s, my rate was 2.75% and the site I was running was very small potatoes. This era of 2.9% being considered standard despite additional competition, greater efficiencies, and higher volume is basically price gouging.

Re: Amazon Cash

#83

Post by fluxem »

"Would you like to buy some Itchy and Scratchy Money? Well it's money that's made just for the park. And it works just like regular money, but it's, er. fun." - Simpsons

Re: Amazon Cash

#84

Post by gpawl »

mabbo wrote: post #51

It's a clever business move for all involved. Amazon skips the credit card fees. The businesses working with them probably don't have to pay Amazon the money for a few weeks, meaning they get to carry an interest-generating balance in the meantime. If you don't spend all of the money you put on your account, then Amazon gets to hold that cash until you do, generating interest on the money held. All the while, the cus…

Sounds like a check card at Bank of Amazon, that maybe isn't a "bank" because of loopholes in the banking law.

Re: Amazon Cash

#85

Post by wazanator »

crispyambulance wrote: post #77
samstave wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, such an interesting 'innovation' in fintech.... I wonder who will come from the woodwork to oppose this? Curious though; can you ELI5 who actually pays the interest? --- I met a banker the other day and I asked him simply "how does one actually found a bank" his reply; "Oh it's really simple, have $30,000,000 and you can create your own bank!" Simple!

I will come out of the woodwork to oppose it :-) It is not really an innovation. This is basically private money that can only be used at a particular store. At the dawn of industrial revolution large mills used to pay their workers with "scrip" -- a private type of cash that could only be used in company-owned stores. The company basically double-dipped: first profiting from the labor of the workers, then profiting…

But isn't that how all gift cards work? If I buy someone a gift card to Target, Target has that money at the time I buy the gift card not when whoever I give the card to spends it.

Is this really any different then buying an Amazon gift card other then you can choose the amount to put on it?

Re: Amazon Cash

#86

Post by eximius »

webkike wrote: post #26

If this is implemented as an in-store pickup location with a little terminal that allows you to buy items with cash anonymously, I'd love the concept.

So, a regular store.

You just have to go to the right store instead of a 'pickup' store.

Or use this but ship to a PO box.

Re: Amazon Cash

#87

Post by zdean »

crispyambulance wrote: post #77
samstave wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, such an interesting 'innovation' in fintech.... I wonder who will come from the woodwork to oppose this? Curious though; can you ELI5 who actually pays the interest? --- I met a banker the other day and I asked him simply "how does one actually found a bank" his reply; "Oh it's really simple, have $30,000,000 and you can create your own bank!" Simple!

I will come out of the woodwork to oppose it :-) It is not really an innovation. This is basically private money that can only be used at a particular store. At the dawn of industrial revolution large mills used to pay their workers with "scrip" -- a private type of cash that could only be used in company-owned stores. The company basically double-dipped: first profiting from the labor of the workers, then profiting…

1) this isn't money you earn from Amazon...so they're not creating a closed amusement park style ecosystem where you HAVE to spend the money you make with them

2) you don't have to convert ALL of your cash into Amazon credit. You can allocate a portion that is useful to find cheaper/better selection of products on Amazon. They rest you can spend wherever/whenever you want

Re: Amazon Cash

#88

Post by webkike »

eximius wrote: post #86
webkike wrote: post #26

If this is implemented as an in-store pickup location with a little terminal that allows you to buy items with cash anonymously, I'd love the concept.

So, a regular store. You just have to go to the right store instead of a 'pickup' store. Or use this but ship to a PO box.

The selection Amazon offers is far greater than what can be offered sometimes by an entire small town.

Re: Amazon Cash

#89

Post by akgerber »

skookum wrote: post #38
wscott wrote: post #10

This is another round of the "Amazon vs Walmart" war. People without banks or credit cards currently shop at Walmart. Now it is much easier for them to shop at Amazon.

"Much easier than before" or "much easier than at Walmart"? I buy the former, but I doubt that many of the cash-only customers shopping at Walmart live in locations or lead lifestyles conducive to receiving regular package deliveries easily. I'm skeptical that payment logistics are their biggest barrier to Amazon shopping. I suspect many of us on HN have a distorted view of how hassle-free online shopping is because…

I live in a tenement house with no doorman in a neighborhood where package theft can be an issue, and usually get my packages at work.

But it's easier to get packages near home now that UPS (at least here in NYC) just rolled out the 'Access Point' program where one can get their packages delivered to local grocery stores, bodegas, etc. for free. You just bring in an ID and pick up the package.

Re: Amazon Cash

#90

Post by hectorr »

kt9 wrote: post #6

I think the idea here is for amazon to allow customers to add cash balances to their amazon account without amazon incurring the 2.9% credit card transaction fee.

Credit card networks (Visa/MC/Amex, not Chase/Wells Fargo/etc) rely on their fixed infrastructure to extract profits. If Amazon can disrupt that business it'd be a massive shift.
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