In today’s e-commerce world, more and more Internet retailers are installing bitcoin capabilities to tap into that growing virtual currency market as well as to gain more publicity by doing so. Not so for one major company.
Amazon, the online retail juggernaut, has reportedly said no thanks when it comes to integrating its payment systems with bitcoin. Tom Taylor, head of Amazon payments, told Re/code in an interview that the company has mulled over the idea of accepting the digital currency as a form of payment, but it has declined to implement.
“Obviously it gets a lot of press and we have considered it, but we’re not hearing from customers that it’s right for them and don’t have any plans within Amazon to engage Bitcoin,” Taylor told the news website.
Taylor acknowledged the benefits of utilizing the digital currency, but noted that its merchants have a lot more pressing matters that Amazon will make a focal point moving forward. One important need that sellers have to do deal with is handling foreign exchange rates.
Amazon isn’t the only retailer to refrain from installing bitcoin options. Walmart.com, Target.com and eBay are only some of the companies refusing to enter into this market and give consumers the option of paying in bitcoin.
In regards to recent reports that Amazon is in the beginning stages of establishing a payments network to compete against the likes of MasterCard and Visa, Taylor said that the retailer is considering it.
“If we felt like we could do a better job than Amex and Visa, and feel like it helps the customer experience, that’s something we would do,” he said. “But it would really have to be something much better than [what they do].”
In the past few months, Amazon has ventured into same-day drone delivery, 3D smartphones and a streaming media player Amazon Fire TV.
If you would like Amazon to consider bitcoin you can let them know through their contact form.
