Amazon Pay Gets Its Alternative Wings

Alternative Airlines, a website that allows customers to search for airline flights, and Amazon Pay, which allows people to pay using their Amazon payment information, have teamed up to provide a new payment option, according to a press release by the airline search company.

Rather than entering new payment information – including address and card details – users can easily enter Amazon account login info. Alternative Airlines’ Managing Director Sam Argyle said the new method would offer customers convenience, as well as a sense of safety and trust.

“We’re delighted to offer Amazon Pay to our customers, as it is one of the most secure ways to pay for flights, as the user doesn’t have to re-enter their card details,” he said. “Amazon is also one of the most trusted brands in the industry.”

Amazon Pay joins a multitude of other payment options from Alternative Airlines, including PayPal, Alipay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Visa Checkout. The company also allows for 70 different currencies from regions around the globe, including Brunei, Aruba, Hong Kong, Haiti and others.

Amazon wants to expand its payment service beyond online payments, and it is reportedly working to convince retailers to accept the option as a way to pay. Amazon has been working with local merchants, gas stations and restaurants that aren’t in direct competition with the online giant.

Retailers could potentially be resistant to the push, however, because some might view the company as a threat. Amazon could face an uphill battle in implementing Amazon Pay in the retail space, which is already fairly crowded with more established options such as Apple Pay, which has more than five million in-store locations as of May of this year.

Americans have not rushed to embrace digital payment options. In Asia, the practice is much more common, with many users of Alipay and WeChat Pay. In fact, The Wall Street Journal, citing a Nilson Report, said digital payments accounted for less than 1 percent of all credit card transactions in the United States in 2017.