No credit card? Amazon will let you buy things with cash
Launched on Amazon this week, the retail giant has introduced a process that lets consumers add funds to their Amazon.com accounts using cash. This involves visiting a participating brick-and-mortar retailer which currently includes CVS Pharmacy, Sheetz, Family Fare, Kum & Go, D&W Fresh Market, and VG’s Grocery.
Amazon expects to expand on this list of retailers, likely targeting stores with a large footprint of stores in local areas like 7-Eleven. Users will be able to add between $15 to $500 in a single transaction, although the maximum amount / number of transactions could be limited by the retailer.
To utilize this method of adding funds, users create a barcode through Amazon.com that can be printed or sent to their smartphone via text message or mobile app. The barcode is presented at one of the participating retailers and money is exchanged to add to the account.
There’s no fee for the user to add money using this method. In fact, Amazon is running a limited-time promotion offering a $10 bonus for the first $50 deposited to an account. When money is added to an account, Amazon will send the user a text message or email to confirm.
Conceptually, this method of payment could attract users that are worried about online security or those that simply don’t have a bank account.
me
April 5, 2017 at 3:35 pm
Seems more fiddly than just buying an Amazon Gift Card at the larger # of participating stores, though I suppose if you’re strapped for cash then you can pay an exact amount this way, yet prices on amazon change so often that you’re aiming for a moving target.