How to add cash to amazon account

(Pocket-lint) - If you don't have a bank card, shopping online is nearly impossible.

People without access to credit and debit cards - including minors - are limited to using gift cards or throw-away refill cards when it comes to buying goods on the internet. Amazon, however, has introduced a new service that aims to change all that. The service is called Amazon Cash, and it essentially lets you apply cash toward your Amazon account balance so that you can finally have money to spend on Amazon.com.

Confused? Well, here is how it works.

What is Amazon Cash?

Amazon Cash lets you add money to your Amazon account balance. So, if you don't have a bank card or a gift card hooked up to your Amazon account, you can use Amazon Cash to buy goods on Amazon.com.

How does Amazon Cash work?

Get your barcode

Go here to get your Amazon Cash barcode via text message. This barcode can be used every time you want to add money to your Amazon account balance. There is no need to generate a new code each time. When you generate your barcode on your smartphone, you have the option to save it to your digital wallet (for iOS users) or add a shortcut to your home screen (for Android users).

From the Amazon Cash barcode page in the Amazon App:

• iOS users: Select “Add to Apple Wallet” to store your Amazon Cash barcode in your smartphone’s digital wallet.
• Android users: Select “Add to Home Screen” to create a shortcut on your smartphone’s home screen.

It is not necessary to have a smartphone to take advantage of Amazon Cash, however. You can use Amazon's print-at-home barcode option by visiting www.amazon.com/cash on a desktop browser and selecting “Get your barcode”.

Go to a store

You need to bring your Amazon Cash barcode into a participating store and show it to a cashier in order to add money to your Amazon account balance. You can only add an amount between $15 and $500 in cash during a single Amazon Cash transaction, but daily limits may vary by retailer. Funds are available immediately after the cashier hands you a receipt for your transaction.

Buy stuff online

Once you add money to your Amazon account balance, you can shop for millions of physical products and digital content on Amazon.com like you normally would if you had a bank card or gift card. In fact, Amazon said there is no difference between Amazon Cash and gift cards: "These are two different names for the same cumulative stored value balance you have available for use on Amazon.com."

View your account balance

You can view your Amazon account balance here on Amazon.com.

Are there any fees?

There are no fees.

Which stores let you add Amazon Cash?

Amazon said it partnered with thousands of stores across the US, including CVS Pharmacy, Speedway, Sheetz, Kum & Go, D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare Supermarkets, and VG's Grocery. A directory of all participating stores can be found at www.amazon.com/cash.

Where is Amazon Cash available?

At launch, Amazon Cash is only available in the US. As TechCrunch noted, more than a quarter of American consumers rely primarily or exclusively on cash, so this new service lets Amazon reach a wider audience in the States.

Dashlane can keep your employees' passwords safe By Pocket-lint Promotion · 23 August 2022

If you're concerned about your organisation's security, this is a no-brainer.

Want to know more?

Check out this Amazon Cash FAQ page.

Writing by Elyse Betters. Editing by Stuart Miles.

Amazon this morning announced the launch of Amazon Cash, a new service that allows consumers to add cash to their Amazon.com balance by showing a barcode at a participating retailer, then having the cash applied immediately to their online Amazon account. The service will support adding any amount between $15 and $500 in a single transaction, Amazon says.

Amazon Cash will be available at brick-and-mortar retailers across the U.S., including CVS Pharmacy, Speedway, Sheetz, Kum & Go, D&W Fresh Market, Family Fare Supermarkets, and VG’s Grocery. Other stores will be added in the future.

The service is not all that different from a similar effort by PayPal, whose PayPal My Cash Card lets you add funds to your online PayPal account, using cash from your wallet. It also has a barcode-only service, powered by Green Dot. Walmart, too, has a Pay with Cash option.

Like PayPal, Amazon Cash is also meant to appeal to the same general demographic who may not yet be shopping online – those who get paid in cash, don’t have a bank account or debit card, and who don’t use credit cards. This “cash customer” (the unbanked or “underbanked) accounts for around 27 percent of consumers, said a 2015 report from the FDIC.

While they may have money to spend online at times, there isn’t an easy way to do so. Until today, they would have to buy an Amazon Gift Card in a designated amount or add cash to prepaid payment cards, to be used at checkout.

More broadly, the service could appeal to anyone who just wants to deposit some cash in their Amazon.com account, without hassle.

The advantage to Amazon Cash is that, as soon as you checkout at the register, the funds are available in the customer’s Amazon account. There are also no fees – something that can’t be said of all the prepaid cards on the market.

However, Amazon isn’t selling “Amazon Cash”-branded Gift Cards at stores – instead, customers visit Amazon.com/cash from web or mobile, or search for “amazon cash” in the Amazon mobile app to access their Amazon Cash barcode. They can also navigate to “Manage Gift Card” balance to find the Amazon Cash barcode, as it’s effectively connected Amazon’s gift card functionality.

That same barcode can be reused any time the customer wants to add more cash to their Amazon account. It can also be added to your Wallet app on iOS or as a homescreen shortcut on Android.

To use the service, customers show their barcode to the cashier, and tell them how much cash they want to apply to their account. The cashier then scans the barcode and the customer pays with their cash. (If the customer doesn’t have a smartphone, they can print out the barcode at home and bring that paper to the store instead. This is also suggested for those who have cracked screens on their phones.)

The funds are available instantly and can be used anywhere on Amazon’s site. Customers are alerted to this via a notification sent to their email or registered phone number with Amazon – or, if the mobile app is installed, it will be sent as a push notification.

Amazon Cash is launching now in the U.S.

How do I add money to my account on Amazon?

How do I cash out my Amazon account?

How much cash can you add to Amazon?

Can I put money on my Amazon credit card?