Amazon launches physical payment solution Amazon Pay Places

Amazon launched Amazon Pay Places in a limited amount of locations, which enables users of Amazon’s mobile app to place orders and check out in physical locations.

TGI Fridays

Restaurant chain TGI Fridays is the first to use the system. Customers in six American cities can view the menu in the app, place an order and check out immediately. Once that has been done, they can pick up the order at a TGI Fridays.

It seems Amazon and PayPal will lock horns once more, after the latter has already taken away market share from credit cards and other payment services thanks to its easy app payment options. Amazon’s major advantage is that it does not require an additional app and that about 75 % of US smartphone users apparently already use its app.

Whole Foods

The service should not be limited to restaurants, but should arrive in every shape of offline retail. There is a chance that Whole Foods customers will soon be able to place an order in Amazon’s app and other Amazon partners are sure to follow. Physical retailers will soon get another button to add to their payment solutions.

Its tarriffs clearly show it is focusing on PayPal, because it charges 2.9 % plus 30 cents per transaction, the exact same fee PayPal has. Amazon Pay has already become popular online, but this is the company’s first move towards the physical world.