Introducing Amazon Payments

According to StorefrontBacktalk, customers who have already supplied Amazon with their payment and shipping information will now be able to use that information, without re-entering it, to make purchases on other sites.

This puts Amazon in the same boat with eBay's PayPal, BillMeLater (in which Amazon is a minority investor) and Google Checkout in offering an alternative payment system.

The basic service offered by Amazon is "Simple Pay," which uses Amazon information to make payments on other sites. In addition there is "Checkout By Amazon," which adds sales tax calculation, buyer feedback, and Amazon's 1-click feature.

There are no start-up or monthly fees; for all transactions under ten dollars, retailers will be charged five percent plus another 5 cents per transaction. For transactions greater than $10, merchants will be charged 2.9 percent plus 30 cents.

There are also monthly discounts based on volume. For monthly payment volume between $3,000-$10,000, the charge is 2.5 percent, plus 30 cents. For $10,000-$100,000, the charge is 2.2 percent plus 30 cents. For >$100K per month, it's 1.9 percent plus 30 cents.