Whether it’s a last minute gift you forgot to buy or a grocery shopping you wanted to be delivered on the same day, there’s only one place to go to – Amazon.
Books, clothes, electronic devices… You can find it all on Amazon and pay with just one click. The worldwide biggest online retailer is also one of the leaders in the technology industry, with Alexa being one of the first intelligent personal assistants.
So when you think about cryptocurrency as the future of the financial industry, you must be curious if Amazon accepts Bitcoin as a method of payment.
The answer is… a ‘no’. And in a minute you’re going to find out why not and how can you bypass the system to pay with Bitcoins on Amazon.
Why Amazon Doesn’t Accept Bitcoin
There are a lot of speculative theories on why Amazon doesn’t accept Bitcoin. But the official statement from Amazon claims a low customer demand, thus creating an entirely new payment system is not worth it.
However, most retailers don’t accept Bitcoin due to its volatility and constantly changing prices. Just imagine buying a TV for 1 Bitcoin but two days later you want to return it and Bitcoin’s value has dropped by 10%. Do you return the customer the amount they paid or the amount a TV is worth upon the refund date? Also, how do you price a product in Bitcoins when the price is constantly changing?
Another issue is the lack of regulations around Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. If you buy something and pay with Visa or PayPal, it’s easy to resolve a dispute. With Bitcoin, you can’t really do that and you don’t have anyone to go to. Naturally, an e-commerce giant like Amazon can’t allow themselves to have this kind of problems.
Buy Amazon Gift Cards with Bitcoin
One of the most popular ways of going around the system is to buy Amazon e-gift cards with Bitcoins. This way you don’t directly pay with Bitcoins on Amazon, but essentially you don’t have to use Fiat currency.
Keep in mind that the card won’t be delivered to you by post – it will be available electronically on your chosen device.
You can use these services to buy Amazon gift cards:
eGifter
- Available for customers from the US, UK, France and Germany
- Uses Coinbase as an exchange
- No extra fees for paying with Bitcoin
Gyft
- Available only in the US
- Uses Coinbase as an exchange
- No extra fees for paying in Bitcoin
Purse.io
- Accepts just Bitcoin
- Available in all countries supported by Amazon
- Cannot be used to buy: Digital Items, Subscriptions, Warranties, Prime-Only Deals, Add-on items and Used items
- Offers multiple discounts
RewardsPay
- Available in the US, UK and Canada
- Buy gift cards worth $10, $25 and $50
BitPanda
- Available only in Germany
- You can exchange your Bitcoins for an Amazon voucher
Will Amazon Accept Bitcoin In The Future
Until the demand rises, Amazon won’t look at adding Bitcoin to their payment methods. On the other hand, the demand will only increase if the Bitcoin acceptance becomes more visible.
There is a number of petitions that are signed by Bitcoin fans asking for at least a consideration for Amazon to accept Bitcoin.
For the time being though, we have to make peace with buying gift cards and using them as a channel to make Amazon purchases.
Do you know any other ways through which Amazon accepts Bitcoin? Let us know in the comments below!
