Amazon teams up with Western Union to launch new payment method

Amazon has partnered up with cross-border, cross-currency payment company Western Union to make it easier for online shoppers to buy items from abroad. Customers in select countries will be able to shop on Amazon and pay in person, in their local currency, at a Western Union shop.

“There are people in the world who want greater access to Amazon’s huge product selection but paying for those purchases has been a real obstacle for many customers”, said Western Union’s President and CEO, Hikmet Ersek, in a statement. “We’re leveraging our platform to make it easier to shop global and pay local”.

The two companies are eyeing the growth of cross-border shopping, which has been forecasted by Forrester Research to make up 20 percent of all e-commerce by 2002, with sales reaching 630 million dollars.