Amazon is set to stop taking payments via PayPal-owned Venmo in the coming weeks.
“Due to recent changes, Venmo can no longer be added as a payment method,” Venmo said on its website Thursday (Dec. 7). “Venmo will remain available to users who currently have it enabled in their Amazon wallet until 01/10/24.”
A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the change in an email to PYMNTS Thursday.
“Customers can still use nearly a dozen other payment options, such as debit cards, credit cards, checking accounts, or installments to pay for their orders,” the statement said.
“Venmo and Amazon have agreed to disable Venmo as an option to pay on Amazon at this time,” a PayPal spokesperson said in a statement provided to PYMNTS. “Customers can continue to add their Venmo debit card or credit card to their Amazon wallet to pay on Amazon. We have a strong relationship with Amazon and look forward to continuing to build on it.”
Both companies declined to comment on why the partnership ended. Amazon and Venmo first teamed up last fall, saying their collaboration gave Venmo’s nearly 90 million active customers in the U.S. a new way to quickly make purchases on Amazon.
“We want to offer customers payment options that are convenient, easy to use, and secure — and there’s no better time for that than the busy holiday season,” Max Bardon, vice president of Amazon Worldwide Payments, said at the time. “Whether it’s paying with cash, buying now and paying later, or now paying via Venmo, our goal is to meet the needs and preferences of every Amazon customer.”
Recent research and reporting by PYMNTS has shown the importance of offering consumers a range of payment choices at checkout.
For example, research by PYMNTS Intelligence has found that payment choice is crucial to consumers, so much so that they rank it above 33 other factors, including things like free delivery, when deciding on a merchant.
And in an interview with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster earlier this week, Terry O’Neil, head of connected commerce and strategic growth for Citi Retail Services, said that his company’s research has found that 90% of shoppers want merchants to offer multiple payment options.
The post Amazon Will Discontinue Venmo Payments in January first appeared on PYMNTS.com.
