Amazon (AMZN) To Roll Out Voice Automated Payment System

Reportedly, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is set to launch a person-to-person payment system with the help of its voice automated assistant, Alexa. With help of the latest system, the process of transferring money will become seamless as users will be able to transfer funds through voice command. To complete the transfer, bank account details of the person to whom the money will be sent needs to be provided.

With the latest move, Amazon is trying to strengthen its footprint in the financial and payment sector.

We believe the customer base will increase significantly if the company succeeds at launching a voice supported peer-to-peer payment system with the help of Alexa.

Coming to the price performance, shares of Amazon have returned 54.9% over a year, outperforming the industry’s rally of 41.4%.

Improving Competitive Position

Introducing Alexa supported payment system will strengthen the company’s competitive position against tech companies like PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) , Square (NYSE:SQ) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) who have already launched a similar kind of payment system.

Additionaly, the latest move will help the company to gain traction in the digital payment market.

We note that Alexa might give a tough competition to PayPal’s Venmo, which is a digital wallet that makes payments to friends, families and others via a mobile app or web interface. Reportedly, shares of PayPal and Square already dipped on Apr 6, 2018 following the news.

Payment Sector Holds Promise

In today’s fast moving world, people prefer digital transaction.

Amazon entered the payment market with the launch of Amazon Pay in 2005. The company introduced Amazon Cash, Amazon Gift Cards, Amazon Rewards Visa Cards and many more.

Further, the company is likely to implement artificial intelligence on Alexa and would incorporate it into various payment system such as paying for car fuel or payment for shopping at Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM).

The company might combine its payment products and services into a single digital wallet and link it up with its e-commerce business which will make the online shopping and payment easier. Last year, the company added Amazon Pay to its Alexa team.

Recently, Amazon partnered with J.P. Morgan Chase to introduce checking accounts. According to a survey conducted by LendEdu, 45% of the responders were willing to use Amazon as their primary banking account.

Hence, we conclude that strong efforts on expansion of business in various sectors is helping Amazon to go beyond its well established e-commerce business. Moreover, diversification of business will continue to benefit the company’s top-line from all the operating sectors.

Zacks Rank & Another Stock to Consider

Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Investors interested in the same space can consider another top-ranked stock like Stamps.com (NASDAQ:STMP) . The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rate for Stamps.com is currently pegged at 15%.

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