Amazon and Santander have introduced the Amazon Visa credit card for customers in Austria, issued by Zinia, Santander’s consumer finance platform.
Cardholders can earn rewards on their purchases, redeemable for future shopping on Amazon.de – the German-facing Amazon marketplace. Users receive 1% back on Amazon.de purchases and 0.5% on other transactions made with the card.
Amazon Prime members will gain additional benefits, earning 2% back on Amazon.de purchases during select shopping events.
Ramón Billordo, Head of Zinia, said: “We continue to expand our business with Zinia, our digital consumer finance platform, and as of today, the Amazon Visa card is now available to Austrian residents.
“We are delighted to collaborate once again with a globally recognised brand like Amazon and to continue providing alternative banking experiences for customers’ shopping needs.”
Amazon and Visa have partnered on similar products in the past, launching a card together with UK high-street bank Barclays last year. The customer benefits of using that card mirror this recent project, suggesting that it saw positive engagement in the UK.
These developments demonstrate the e-commerce company’s ambitions to expand into the fintech and payments sectors. Visa, so far, has played a significant role in helping the company achieve this goal, leveraging its position as a member of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network.
Rocco Bräuniger, Country Manager, Amazon Germany, said: “We are excited to introduce Amazon Visa to amazon.de customers in Austria, a payment option with no annual fee that offers attractive rewards to customers for their online and stationary retail purchases and extra rewards for Prime members.”
Globally, the payments space has witnessed a slight shift towards alternative payment methods in recent months, particularly in South America, Asia and Africa.
UK financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has actively looked to encourage consumers to use alternative methods amid concerns that Visa and Mastercard’s dominance is stifling innovation.
However, card payments are still the preferred method of payment in Western regions, with integrated rewards, such as the ones this card offers, continuing to attract consumers.
“We’re delighted to collaborate with Zinia by Santander in making it easier for all customers to shop and save and bringing even more value to the Prime membership,” Bräuniger concluded.
