Amazon to let customers pay with Venmo
Amazon is accepting a major new form of digital payment on its e-commerce site and app.
The e-tail colossus is offering Venmo as a digital payment solution to select online customers beginning Tuesday, Oct. 25, with a gradual rollout to all U.S. digital shoppers by Black Friday (Nov. 25).
To get started, customers will add their Venmo account as a payment method to their Amazon account. Once their account is added, customers can select Venmo as their payment option during online checkout. Customers can also choose to select Venmo as their default online payment option after adding their Venmo account.
Amazon initially announced that customers in the U.S. would at some point be able to pay with Venmo for purchases on Amazon.com and the Amazon mobile shopping app in November 2021.
Amazon is giving a major boost to Venmo’s status as an e-commerce payment method following its adoption by other online retail players including 1-800-Flowers.com and Eyebuydirect.com.
In addition, Amazon is following in the footsteps of a growing number of well-known brick-and-mortar retailers that have adopted the digital payment platform for brick-and-mortar payments. In October 2021, Macy’s added PayPal and Venmo as contactless in-store payment options.
And in August 2021, Giant Eagle and its GetGo division became the first U.S. supermarket and convenience chains to accept PayPal and Venmo payments at the physical store checkout. The two banners of Pittsburgh-based parent company Giant Eagle Inc., which operates 474 stores across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, and Maryland, are leveraging technology from Blackhawk Network and partnering with PayPal and Venmo to bring these payment methods in-store.
Giant Eagle and GetGo began accepting PayPal and Venmo payment in-store on the heels of drugstore giant CVS Pharmacy, which in November 2020 became the first major national retailer to offer touch-free payment with PayPal and Venmo QR codes at its brick-and-mortar stores.
By branching into accepting PayPal-owned Venmo payments on its e-commerce site and mobile app, Amazon may make itself even more desirable to digital shoppers. According to a survey from retail operating system provider Brightpearl which asked consumers how they prefer to pay online. PayPal (58%) was the top choice, followed by credit (51%) and debit cards (47%). Other digital payment options cited by respondents included Amazon Pay (32%), Google Pay (29%), Apple Pay (26%), Shopify (19%), and Klarna (16%).
“We want to offer customers payment options that are convenient, easy to use, and secure—and there’s no better time for that than the busy holiday season. Whether it’s paying with cash, buying now and paying later, or now paying via Venmo, our goal is to meet the needs and preferences of every Amazon customer,” said Max Bardon, VP of Amazon Worldwide Payments. “We’re excited to continue to offer customers even more options when it comes to how and when they want to pay for their order.”
“We know that the Venmo community of nearly 90 million users value the safety, security, ease, and familiarity that paying with Venmo helps to bring to the checkout experience,” said Doug Bland, senior VP and GM, head of consumer, PayPal. “The ability to pay with Venmo on Amazon continues our ongoing commitment to offer the community more ways to spend, send, receive, and manage their money with Venmo.”