Amazon Offers 'Virtual' Credit Card
Amazon.com has introduced the Amazon Credit Account, which it likes to call a cardless credit card, for shoppers on its Web site.Much like a department store credit account, the Amazon Credit Account lets shoppers buy merchandise on the Amazon.com site and be billed for it later.
The company said the new account lets customers without bank accounts or credit cards shop on its site. To start the service, Amazon is offering people who register for an account three months of no payments and interest-free holiday shopping for orders of more than $200 until Jan. 31. Customers can sign up for an account at www.amazon.com/credit.
The account is offered in conjunction with Citi Commerce Solutions, a division of Citibank Cards. The service is administered by Amazon subsidiary Amazon.com Financial Services Inc.
An Amazon Credit Account carries an annual percentage rate of 22.90 percent and is available only to individuals in the United States, not businesses. It cannot be used for purchases made from Amazon Marketplace, Auctions and zShops or for Circuit City merchandise sold on Amazon.com. It also cannot be used to buy gift certificates or place deposits on cell-phone service.
