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This seems inconvenient. You need to load cash into account before being able to spend it. How many online stores in card-deficient countries operate is that first you make the purchase, then you pay for it at some physical location (ATM, grocery store chains, etc.). Having to preload cash first allows for a situation where the price of items in your cart unexpectedly rises and you don't have enough money in the account and you have to go fill it up again.


The target audience here is people with no credit cards and no bank accounts. The cash-only or cash-mostly population. For them, this is probably the only way they could buy on Amazon.

Clever move by Bezos & Co.


Seems to be somewhat common in Eastern Europe, where payment kiosks are located at many convenience stores. In a card-less society they're used for utility bills, mobile operator account top-up, settling government fees and fines, buying lotto tickets, etc. Amazon would be just another option on a kiosk like this https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qYEh0TtsW5c/maxresdefault.jpg


Yes, these things. After you make an order in an online store, you pay for it using a kiosk. But Amazon Cash requires you to have money on your Amazon account before you can make an order. Not a single online store in Russia works like this.




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