Today, Amazon launched a new service which brings the company’s payment processing tools to mobile devices. Called the “Amazon Mobile Payments Service,” the technology includes a set of APIs (application programming interfaces) for mobile developers which will allow them to provide payment options to their customers within mobile websites and mobile applications. The new service also allows for integration of Amazon’s “1-Click” checkout, the feature that lets customers make purchases using their credit card information stored within their Amazon.com accounts.
For Customers: Mobile Shopping Made Easy
Customers using the new Mobile Payments Service (MPS) will first sign-in using an Amazon MPS-enabled phone or mobile application. After this initial authentication process, they’ll then be able to make all future purchases from that device without having to sign in again. This includes the 1-Click checkout functionality.
As the MPS website shows, it only takes four steps for a mobile shopper to complete their purchase using the new technology. First, the customer clicks on the “Pay with Amazon” button which directs them to a mobile site hosted by Amazon Payments. From there, the customer can pick which payment method they want to use from the options they already have on file with Amazon. After the payment is authorized, the customer is then automatically redirected back to the original mobile website where they can then be offered the download they just purchased.
For Developers: No Extra Work Required
Developers and merchants already using the company’s Amazon Payments service on their websites won’t need to do any additional development work – the service will automatically detect when customers are shopping from a mobile device and will switch over to the new mobile optimized payment interface.
In other words, that means that developers can continue to use Amazon FPS (flexible payment service) APIs they’ve already been using to build their applications and they don’t need to go back and re-code anything to make the apps mobile-compatible.
One of the first companies to launch the Amazon MPS is Handmark, a mobile content store where customers can shop for games and applications across a number of platforms including Android, Blackberry, iPhone, Palm OS, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Java devices. The company will integrate the technology within its online store and its on-device channels.
Developers interested in integrating this technology into their mobile applications can learn how to do so via the Amazon MPS website.
