Amazon wants to make it easier for customers to buy products on its platform with cash.
The tech giant today launched Amazon Cash, a new free service that lets people use cash to add money to their Amazon account online.
Customers can visit one of more than 10,000 participating retailers — like CVS, Speedway, Sheetz, and others — and bring their Amazon Cash barcode, which can be found at amazon.com/cash or on the Amazon Mobile App. You can print the barcode or show it on your phone; the same barcode can be used over and over.
Once at the store, customers show the cashier the barcode to scan, and pay the amount they want added to their Amazon balance in cash. Within seconds, an Amazon gift card is added to their account and can be used to purchase items on Amazon.com.
Customers can add between $15 and $500 in a single Amazon Cash transaction; daily limits vary by retailer. Amazon does not allow customers to withdraw cash added to their Amazon account via Amazon Cash.
Amazon already lets people buy physical gift cards with cash at participating retailers; Amazon Cash removes the need for the actual gift card or a prepaid payment card, and immediately deposits the cash into an online account.
The new service should appeal to those that don’t make purchases online with a credit card or bank account. TechCrunch noted that PayPal also offers something similar with its PayPal My Cash Card, allowing people to add cash to their online PayPal account.
