Amazon Payments to compete with Google Checkout and PayPal

[mandy]

From TechCrunch:

Look for a launch announcement by Amazon this week or next of a new web service around payments, adding to their S3 (storage), EC2 (virtual server) and other services. They’ve been quietly testing the service, which will compete with PayPal and Google Checkout, for a few weeks. It is an extension of the existing Amazon Payments, which allows third parties selling items on Amazon’s extended network to receive payments from buyers.

We hear that for now at least this is a redirect service only, like Google Checkout. Users will be redirected to Amazon’s servers to complete the payment and then returned to the original site...

full article: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/08/01/ama...-checkout/

from Auctionbytes:

One might wonder why an online seller would need yet another online payment method with all the services currently out there, but offering customers a way to pay that is convenient and comfortable to them can help increase conversion rates...

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m08/i01/s00

[amy]

I'm waiting to see the fee structure before I comment. 

[mandy]

Announcement on the AWS blog:

Today we are rolling out the Amazon Flexible Payments Service (or Amazon FPS) in beta form. The "good idea" has become a reality and developers now have yet another way to build scalable, profitable online businesses.

We've taken all that we know about dealing with credit cards, bank accounts, fraud checking and customer service and wrapped it all up into one convenient package.

In much the same way that S3 and EC2 allow developers to forget about leasing space in data centers, buying servers and negotiating for bandwidth, FPS shields developers from many of the messy and complex issues which arise when dealing with money. Once again, we take care of the "muck" and developers get to focus on being innovative and creative.

Designed specifically for developers, the "F" in FPS shouldn't be taken lightly. This is a very rich service -- the API document is over 250 pages long.

FPS provides developers with a rule-based processing model. The FPS Gatekeeper system cross-checks the payment instructions from each party in order to confirm the validity of each transaction. Using this model you can create one-time or recurring transactions, transactions limited by date, by amount, or even by a list of authorized senders or recipients. You can even aggregate a slew of micro-payments into a single large transaction that's of a reasonable size for credit card or other payment processing...

full announcement: http://aws.typepad.com/aws/2007/08/pay-me-now-or-p.html

Fees from the FPS documentation:

For Transactions >= $10:

* 1.5% + $0.01 for Amazon Payments balance transfers
* 2.0% + $0.05 for bank account debits
* 2.9% + $0.30 for credit card

For Transactions < $10:

* 1.5% + $0.01 for Amazon Payments balance transfers
* 2.0% + $0.05 for bank account debits
* 5.0% + $0.05 for credit card

For Amazon Payments balance transfers < $0.05:

* 20% of the transaction amount, with a minimum fee of $0.0025

Qualified developers can apply for the following monthly volume discounts for credit card transactions:

* 2.5% + $0.30 per transaction for payment volume from $3K- $10K
* 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction for payment volume from $10K - $100K
* 1.9% + $0.30 per transaction for payment volume over $100K

From the AWS help pages:

Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS) - Limited Beta

Amazon Flexible Payments Service (Amazon FPS) is the first payments service designed from the ground up specifically for developers. The set of web services APIs allows the movement of money between any two entities, humans or computers. It is built on top of Amazon's reliable and scalable payment infrastructure.

Amazon FPS offers developers unmatched flexibility in how they can structure payment instructions, including standing instructions that can remain in place for multiple transactions.  These instructions impose conditions and constraints on money movements and can be set by both senders and receivers of funds. For example, a sender might set a spending limit per week for a particular named recipient. Only that named recipient would be able to withdraw funds and only up to an amount per week equal to the spending limit. A piece of FPS functionality called the GateKeeper automatically enforces the constraints you set with payment instructions. When the sender or receiver is a computer system, payment instructions are set programmatically using APIs. FPS also provides a simple set of user interfaces that humans can use. From the users' point of view, they simply see terms of service and a request to accept those terms.

Developers are free to set up an unlimited number of payment instructions. This makes it possible, for example, to have a different set of payment instructions for each counterparty with which you do business.

Developers can create payment instructions that are as simple or complex as they desire.  For example, creating a relatively complex business model around micro-payments is easy to do with Amazon FPS. Our aggregation feature lets you track and aggregate micro-payments into a single payment transaction, saving on transaction processing costs and avoiding having to build complex ledger functionality into your own applications.  Without this capability micro-payments would be difficult or cost-prohibitive.

Additionally, Amazon FPS exposes a different fee structure for each of the underlying payment methods enabled: credit cards, bank account debits, and Amazon Payments balance transfers. Amazon's cost to process a payment through a bank account debit is less than our cost via credit card. Our cost for processing an Amazon Payments balance transfer is less still. By exposing different fees for each of these three methods, we can pass on savings from bank account debits and balance transfers, allowing developers to save money. In each case, we take on the complexity of managing security and fraud protection.

Importantly, Amazon FPS also provides developers with the easiest way to charge Amazon's tens of millions of customers (with their permission, of course!).  Amazon customers can pay using the same login credentials and payment information they already have on file with us. This helps Amazon customers keep their payment information secure and removes the friction you would face if you needed to get customers to enter their payment information before they could make a purchase.

full FPS description: http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html?node=342430011

from AuctionBytes:

Developers will likely question whether eBay will allow applications using the payment service to be used on its site. eBay still bans Google's Checkout service, which is over a year old. Amazon said it has 69 million active customers and has been processing payments since 1995, making a strong case for having a "substantial historical track record of providing safe and reliable financial and/or banking related services," as required by eBay.

Amazon FPS service is different from Google Checkout in that it can be set up to send and receive money using not only credit cards, but also bank accounts or Amazon Payments balance transfer as payment methods...

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m08/i03/s00

A developer reviews FPS:

Anyone who has ever used Amazon Web Services has noticed Amazon can bill as low as only 1 cent a month. If you’ve ever been jealous they can do that and you can’t, well, now you can. With FPS, you can now bill as low as 1 cent, and Amazon will charge a transaction fee of one quarter of one cent. Bring back the penny candies, because this changes the game for the entire web. There may have been micropayment solutions before, but none backed by a major trustworthy player like Amazon.

Paying for each and every one cent purchase sounds like a headache for your customers. Amazon Flexible Payment System solves the problem by maintaining an account balance between every two parties. Much like a bank, you can add credit and make debits to your heart’s content and Amazon keeps track of the balance owing. Your customer can buy a bag of candies one penny at a time and only whip out their credit card once.

This is important and powerful. FPS is the first payment system that separates a charge from a payment.

full review: http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2007/08/0...t-service/

From Ars:

There are also no minimum fees for companies that want to use the service, and no startup charges either. According to the company, all pricing is based on transaction size and payment method, charged to the vendor on a per-transaction basis. Google Checkout currently offers a similar deal, but only until January 1, 2008.

full article: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/200...aypal.html

[amy]

For Transactions >= $10:

* 1.5% + $0.01 for Amazon Payments balance transfers
* 2.0% + $0.05 for bank account debits
* 2.9% + $0.30 for credit card

The same high credit card rates as PayPal. 

monthly volume discounts for credit card transactions:

* 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction for payment volume from $10K - $100K

The same as PayPal again--and even with the discount still higher than our merchant account (2.15% + $0.25 per transaction, no per transaction fee on the first 250 payments every month).  If we switched from our Merchant account to either PayPal or Amazon Payments it would cost us  about $200 more each month to process payments.

[amy]

EDIT: Amazon FPS will be great for sellers whose average payment size is under $5.  It won't be great for the rest of us.

[mandy]

A related article:

Amazon Payments has the lowest protection for sellers in terms of chargeback disputes. Amazon will reimburse sellers for eligible chargebacks up to a total of $2,500 per calendar year. This compares to $5,000/year for PayPal and $10,000+ for Google Checkout. While PayPal and Google Checkout are specific about what conditions sellers must meet in order to be protected, Amazon is shy on details (see accompanying chart)...

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m08/i13/s03

[mandy]

Update:

Amazon.com took its Flexible Payment Services (FPS) one step further on Monday, announcing Amazon Pay Now "widgets." Anyone can now use a simple HTML interface to accept Amazon Payments on their site, either alone or with other payment options. Merchants can place Amazon Pay Now buttons on product pages on their own ecommerce websites and can easily integrate Amazon Payments into their shopping carts and checkout pages...

full article: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y07/m12/i14/s01

[amy]

an easily integrate Amazon Payments into their shopping carts and checkout pages if someone develops a Zen Cart mod.

[mandy]

Amazon FPS adds new features, ability to create own payment service

The new Amazon FPS (Flexible Payments Service) Marketplace Widget gives developers the ability to create a widget which can move money between two other parties, with complete control of fees paid to the developer. Money moves from buyer to seller, and the seller pays a fee to the developer. The fee can be a fixed amount and/or a percentage of the transaction.

This new widget is ideal for creating shopping carts, e-commerce platforms, and marketplaces. Prior to the introduction of this widget, developers would need to make multiple calls to FPS and to juggle several tokens to implement the same functionality.

Once you are signed up for FPS, you can use our interactive builder tool to create the HTML for a Marketplace Widget in minutes.You'll need to write a bit of server-side code to insert the proper request signature into the HTML, but that's about it.

We've also added some new features to FPS itself and to the existing Pay Now Widget:

    * API-level support for the fee mechanism used by the Marketplace Widget.
    * The Pay Now Widget now supports "reserve and settle," allowing funds to be reserved on a credit card without making an actual charge.
    * Both widgets now support an Instant Payment Notification (IPN) feature. An HTTP POST call is made to a third-party URL each time that a payment or refund is processed.
    * A new Refund call automates the process of generating refunds.
    * Additional transaction details, including the buyer's email address, are now available to sellers.

full announcement: http://aws.typepad.com/aws/2008/05/new-fps-marketp.html

[mandy]

A related article:

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Derek Brown asserts in a research note this afternoon that Amazon “may soon launch a PayPal-esque Payments service for use by consumers and merchants across the Web, potentially siphoning growth and/or profit from eBay’s crown jewel.” Brown says that Amazon could launch such a service as soon as late summer or early fall of this year...

full article: http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily...hoobarrons