Amazon to Offer Kindle Checkout System to Physical Retailers - Wall Street Journal

Jan. 29, 2014 5:22 p.m. ET

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com, during a press conference in New York. European Pressphoto Agency

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -2.59% Amazon.com Inc. US : Nasdaq ^$ 384.20 -10.23 -2.59% Jan. 29, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 3.35M AFTER HOURS ^$ 389.40 +5.20 +1.35% Jan. 29, 2014 7:59 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 48,501 P / E Ratio 1372.14 Market Cap $ 180.54 Billion Dividend Yield N / A Rev. per Employee $ 793,371 01/29/14 Now Amazon Wants a Piece of th … 01/29/14 Amazon to Offer Kindle Checkou … 01/29/14 AHEAD OF THE TAPE: Amazon’s Gr … More quote details and news » AMZN in Your Value Your Change Short position plans to offer brick-and-mortar retailers a checkout system that uses Kindle tablets as soon as this summer, people briefed on the company’s plans said.

In one scenario, the Seattle company would give merchants Kindle tablets and credit-card readers, the people said. Amazon also might offer retailers other services, such as website development and data analysis, the people said.

To accelerate the project, Amazon last year bought certain technology and hired some engineers from GoPago Inc., a San Francisco startup that offered checkout systems linked to a smartphone app, the people said. GoPago is now a unit of DoubleBeam Inc.

Amazon’s plans remain fluid and the project might be delayed, altered or canceled, they said.

The project would thrust Amazon, the largest US e-commerce merchant, into the realm of physical retail stores, where more than 90% of commerce is still conducted, and open up a new trove of data from consumers’ in-store spending habits.

But it would also inject Amazon into an increasingly crowded arena against the makers of traditional checkout systems, such as VeriFone Systems Inc. PAY -3.17% VeriFone Systems Inc. US: NYSE ^$ 28.45 -0.93 -3.17% Jan. 29, 2014 4:05 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 1.19M AFTER HOURS ^$ 28.44 -0.01 -0.04% Jan. 29, 2014 4:40 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 5,044 P / E Ratio N / A Market Cap $ 3.24 Billion Dividend Yield N / A Rev. per Employee $ 298,688 12/17/13 VeriFone Systems Reports Loss … More quote details and news » PAY in Your Value Your Change Short position and NCR Corp. NCR -1.47% NCR Corp. US: NYSE ^$ 34.91 -0.52 -1.47% Jan. 29, 2014 4:04 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 1.36M AFTER HOURS ^$ 34.91 0.00 0.00% Jan. 29, 2014 4:29 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 2,491 P / E Ratio 26.37 Market Cap $ 5.90 Billion Dividend Yield N / A Rev. per Employee $ 237,160 01/27/14 NCR to Upgrade Compliance Unde … More quote details and news » NCR in Your Value Your Change Short position , as well as startups including Square Inc., which offers a credit-card reader that attaches to tablets and smartphones. EBay Inc. EBAY -1.82% eBay Inc. US: Nasdaq ^$ 52.19 -0.97 -1.82% Jan. 29, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 16.52M AFTER HOURS ^$ 52.38 +0.19 +0.36% Jan. 29, 2014 7:56 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 60,420 P / E Ratio 23.72 Market Cap $ 68.82 Billion Dividend Yield N / A Rev. per Employee $ 509,429 01/24/14 India’s Snapdeal Looks to Join … 01/23/14 Icahn Says He Is Prepared for … 01/23/14 Icahn’s Stake in eBay Now Clos .. . More quote details and news » EBAY in Your Value Your Change Short position ‘s PayPal unit is testing several ways of extending its strength in electronic payments into the physical world, including its own devices for swiping credit cards.

Because many of the largest physical retailers have extensive, complicated checkout systems that may be difficult or costly to give up, Amazon is likely to focus on smaller retailers.

Apple Inc. AAPL -1.14% Apple Inc. US: Nasdaq ^$ 500.75 -5.75 -1.14% Jan. 29, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 17.85M AFTER HOURS ^$ 501.00 +0.25 +0.05% Jan. 29, 2014 7:59 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 145,202 P / E Ratio 12.34 Market Cap $ 452.08 Billion Dividend Yield 2.44% Rev. per Employee $ 2,166,110 01/29/14 Tim Hortons, PC Brands Hold Sw … 01/28/14 HEARD ON THE STREET: Apple’s N. .. 01/28/14 Apple Shares Hit Three- Month L. .. More quote details and news » AAPL in Your Value Your Change Short position is moving into mobile payments and has been meeting with industry executives to discuss options for paying for physical goods on its devices. The iPad and iPhone have become popular payment-processing devices for an array of merchants, from food trucks to Nordstrom Inc. JWN -2.63% Nordstrom Inc. US: NYSE ^$ 56.70 -1.53 ?? -2.63% Jan. 29, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 2.09M AFTER HOURS ^$ 56.70 0.00 0.00% Jan. 29, 2014 4:29 pm Volume (Delayed 15m): 37,196 P / E Ratio 14.88 Market Cap $ 11.26 Billion Dividend Yield 2.12% Rev. per Employee $ 205,426 01/15/14 Nordstrom to Open in Toronto’s … 12/30/13 In Canadian Retail, Will 2014 … 12/09/13 Tracking Technology Sheds Ligh … More quote details and news » JWN in Your Value Your Change Short position

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Amazon would bring strengths and weaknesses to the payment fray. It holds credit-card information from more than 230 million users, exceeding PayPal’s 142.6 million. But Amazon has virtually no experience in brick-and-mortar retailing and merchants might be wary of doing business, and sharing customer data, with a competitor.

“The game of mobile payments is going to be won or lost at the physical checkout, that’s where nearly all of commerce is done today,” said Richard Crone, chief executive of Crone Consulting, a payments advisory firm.

To draw in merchants, Amazon has considered allowing them to offer promotions or discounts through Amazon.com or its Amazon Local daily deals offers, the people briefed on the company’s plans said.

“At the end of the day, a merchant wants to make a sale, to drive up business. And if Amazon or anyone else can help them do that, that’s tough to turn away,” Mr. Crone said.

Amazon also might seek to create a so-called mobile wallet with stored credit-card information to help speed payments, two of the people said. The company last year rolled out a one-click digital button for processing online and mobile payments on other retailers ‘websites using Amazon customers’ credit cards.

Amazon released the Kindle Fire HDX last year, the newest version of its full-featured tablet, touting security software that the company said could benefit businesses.

The Kindle is part of Amazon’s broad hardware ambitions, which include a line of smartphones now under development, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.

Write to Greg Bensinger at greg.bensinger @ wsj.com