According to a new reports out of Italy recently, Amazon has acquired a mobile payment firm called GoPago that could help it enter the mobile payment space. The company will no doubt compete against early entrants including Square, Isis, Google Wallet and others, though Amazon’s existing online retail footprint and consumer base could help it get a quicker stronghold in the market.
GoPago offers both iOS and Android applications under the same name, and the apps are designed to allow you to pay ahead of time and then pick up your order, or in the case of a restaurant, wait for it to get delivered to your table. Once you’ve received the items you’ve paid for, simply tap “I received my order,” and you’re good to go. If it implements the technology, Amazon could potentially allow a customer to buy something online or from his or her phone, and then go to a store or fulfillment center partner and pick it up.
GoPago CEO Vincenzo Di Nicola confirmed the acquisition to Italian tech outlet Siliconvalley.Correiere.it and suggested that Amazon has big dreams for implementing GoPago’s services into its own. “I can not say more, except for the fact that the technology will] put GoPago at the base of a new ambitious project.” Terms of the deal were not revealed and Amazon has yet to confirm the acquisition itself.
