Amazon Coins Expand to All Android Devices (Feb. 24, 2014)
Amazon has announced that customers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany now can use the e-retail giant’s Amazon Coins in-app currency on all Android-based smartphones and tablets. Launched last year, Amazon Coins previously were only usable to make in-app purchases on the company’s Kindle Fire tablet. Now, the currency can be used to buy apps, games and in-app items from the Amazon Appstore on any Android device.
“Since the launch of Amazon Coins, we’ve been amazed by the number of customers using Coins, as well as how many Coins they’re spending on apps and games,” said Mike George, vice president, Amazon Appstore and Games. George said the currency’s popularity was driven largely by the fact that customers can earn Coins when they buy apps and can buy Coins themselves at up to a 10 percent discount. Upon the debut of the currency in May 2013, Amazon gave certain Kindle Fire users $5 worth of free Amazon Coins in a bid to spur takeup.
The expansion of Coins to all Android devices could give the company a leg-up in the in-app payments space. Just months after the launch of Amazon Coins, e-commerce rival PayPal Inc. signed a deal with in-app commerce provider Lotaris to offer users the option of paying via PayPal when making in-app purchases over the Lotaris platform.
