A Foolish Take: 44.5% of Amazon customers would use an "Amazon Bank"
Would you deposit your money in an Amazon bank account?
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is in talks with several leading banks to offer a "checking-account-like" product for customers, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move makes sense: A recent survey by LendEDU found that almost half of its 1,000 respondents were "open to the idea of using an account created by Amazon as a primary bank account."
Additionally, 50% of respondents were "open to the idea of using a savings account created by Amazon." Over half of Amazon Prime members (52% for primary banking and 58% for savings) were open to letting Amazon handle their accounts, indicating that Prime members trust Amazon more than non-members.
Amazon wouldn't be the first megaretailer to expand into banking. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) offers banking services in Canada and Mexico, and has U.S. checking accounts via a partnership with Green Dot Bank. U.S. regulators thwarted Walmart's attempts to become a full bank, but that could change in the future.
Amazon's Chinese rival, Alibaba, also offers online banking, loans, and mobile payments through its affiliate Ant Financial.
Learn more: Best current CD rates
Launching checking accounts could tighten Amazon's grip on its consumers -- and possibly disrupt the banking industry.
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Leo Sun owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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