Amazon Expands Alexa’s Reach in Financial Services to Help You Manage Money Transfers

Amazon is doing its best to expand the capabilities of its Alexa-enabled devices like the Echo home speakers. As per Forbes report, Amazon has ramped up hiring developers in specific for Alexa division. Collaborating with the leading online retailer, a Virginia-based company named Daon has created a way for financial institutions to let their customers send money to anyone else’s account using Alexa.

About Daon, they are credited with developing the biometric software for governments and for banks, including the “selfie pay” technology for Mastercard. Located in Virginia, US, the company has developed technology that can be deployed on Alexa to make money transfers through a voice command and Alexa will comply. The payment could cover any purpose, paying the rent to your landlord or lending a small amount to your friend. But there will be conditions attached. Daon has not disclosed the names of any specific banks that have signed up for this money transfer technology through Alexa.

Amazon is planning well to expand its services to the public at large beyond the ecommerce online retail activities and the financial services segment is definitely one of them. The company already has an arrangement of offering branded credit cards and is aiming to partner with a bank to offer value-added services to its customers. The Alexa money transfer facility could become part of this expanded activity. And Alexa is equally equipped with other ‘Alexa skills’ where fund transfers etc., are permissible within an individual’s different accounts. Transferring money to another person’s account is not yet live.

The new payments feature on Alexa, when it is introduced commercially will come in direct competition to a host of such services being offered by Apple Pay Cash, Venmo, PayPal, Square Cash and Zelle.

Just wondering about the process of online transfer using Alexa. It may not be as easy as it sounds. Presumably there would be at least three to four steps before Alexa accepts your voice command to make the money transfer. The details of the person who you wish to make the payment to, that is, the Payee Account details will have to be added in advance for Alexa to accept and comply with your command. There could be phone message confirmation similar to the OTP method followed for online money transactions through mobile phones. Amazon is ensuring that Alexa touches our lives in any way possible.