Immediately after announcing Q3 financial results, Amazon has expanded its payment platform with PayPhrase, a system which can be used directly on Amazon stores and also at any third-party web stores which already accept payments via Checkout by Amazon. The idea behind this system revolves around enabling consumers to manage a single credential, instead of multiple login names and passwords, thus eliminating the need for payment and shipping data input on participating sites (including DKNY.com, Jockey.com. JR.com, CarToys.com and Buy.com).
Analysts and bloggers on tech websites have had various reactions to this news. Some voiced concern that these are just more IDs and PINs that shoppers need to remember, others mentioned the fact that such initiatives leave consumers open to online fraud, as hackers have greatly improved their techniques in guessing likely names or phrases. And there is also the consumer tendency to choose simple passwords, as they are easier to remember. According to information provided by security services provider Trend Micro, nearly 37 percent of those who fall victim to hackers are non-tech savvy net users who use simple passwords.
Read more about this and similar stories in our premium publications.
Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.
Subscribe now