"Amazon doubles down on a ‘new’ payment method for online purchases: Cash" (AMZN)

From The Hustle:

Amazon — the e-commerce giant better known for patenting a way for customers to pay online with a single, frictionless click — is now investing in a different checkout option in the US: cold hard cash.

It’s called Amazon PayCode…
And the program, which is already available in 19 countries outside the US, allows customers to pay for their online orders at any Western Union location. According to Amazon, 80% of Americans live within 5 miles of one of the 15k participating Western Unions.

The payment process works like this: When customers select the PayCode option when checking out, they receive a QR code. Then, they have 24 hours to fork over some greenbacks at the local W. Union....MORE

So, between walking to WU to pay in cash; and the physical Amazon "Four Star" and book stores, we've pretty much come full circle.