Amazon has released Amazon Pay for Alexa Skills, a platform that means businesses can now offer product and service purchasing through Alexa.
The service was previously in beta and available for US businesses to use, but Amazon has now revealed it'll be generally available for developers to integrate into web stores.
One of the main benefits is that customers can buy goods and services without putting their payment details in manually. They simply need to add their payment details to Amazon Pay beforehand and will be able to complete the transaction using their voice and the Amazon account details already stored in Alexa.
Businesses can easily implement Amazon Pay for Alexa Skills by registering to use Amazon Pay within their skill and then linking their Amazon Pay account with their Alexa Skill in Amazon Central.
Amazon explained Amazon Pay for Alexa Skills also integrates with the majority of CRM systems for additional marketing activity and customer retention.
One of the companies already using Amazon Pay for Alexa Skills is Virgin Trains, which means customers can book train tickets using their voice. They can check their train times and then go through to purchase in just a few commands.
"From finding train times or booking your tickets through voice, we want to make every journey with Virgin Trains amazing, and our collaboration with Amazon is a great example of this commitment to putting the customer first," John Sullivan, CIO of Virgin Trains said.
He added that customers have experienced a 66% shorter purchase time, significantly improving their buying experience and boosting customer service.
