Amazon launches mobile payments service

Online retailer trying to get a piece of the mobile payments space

Amazon is taking a major step into the mobile space.

Today, the Seattle-based company announced it has launched a mobile payments service (MPS) which retailers can integrate into their mobile storefront.  Amazon has made available API's to developers to enable this feature.  The service basically leverages Amazon's current payment structure. 

Mobile stores and applications which choose to integrate Amazon's MPS will make it easy for anybody with an Amazon account, to pay for purchases using their accounts.  A first time user experience would function similar to this:

After this initial sign in process, users can then enable 1-Click purchases.

This simplicity in mobile payments puts it right up there with Apple's App store and iTunes Store.  Amazon has a much wider scope though, as it is offering its payments platform to be integrated into any of the millions of handsets and applications beyond the iPhone. 

Handmark, a distributor of mobile applications and services announced it will be integrating Amazon MPS within its mobile content stores.  Paul Reddick, CEO of Handmark said, "The Amazon Mobile Payments Service delivers a fast, easy and familiar mobile payment option millions of people trust and we are pleased to extend it broadly to our customers and partners." 

Amazon is now competing with Google and PayPal, which both have mobile payments services as well, but neither can be directly integrated into a developer's application.  With the millions of credit cards Amazon has on file, this could be a great opportunity for the company.