Jamaican Shoppers Can Now Pay For Amazon Orders At Western Union

Amazon shoppers in Jamaica can now pay for their items in local currency at Western Union locations across the country, according to a release on Tuesday (Nov. 5).

“We’re helping to unlock access to Amazon.com for customers who need and want items that can only be found online in many parts of the world,” said Khalid Fellahi, Western Union consumer money transfer president. “This is a great example of two global brands innovating and collaborating to bring customers more convenience and choice. In a world where cross-border buyers and sellers are often located on different continents and in completely different financial ecosystems, our platform is ideally suited to solving the complexity of collecting local currency and converting it into whatever currency merchants need on the other end.”

Shoppers can order items either on the Amazon website or Amazon’s mobile app. When they’re ready to check out, they choose the PayCode option. They will then receive a code and instructions on how to complete the transaction at a participating Western Union location.

“Bill Express, Western Union’s agent in Jamaica, is pleased to once again partner to unlock new possibilities,” said GKMS President and CEO Grace Burnett. “Jamaicans are very familiar with ordering online, and the opportunity to be able to facilitate improved access to these online purchases via Amazon.com is a significant boost. We still have a number of our consumers without a debit or credit card, and this move will certainly add value to the digital journey that we are creating for our various customer segments.

“Through this partnership between Western Union and Amazon, all Jamaicans will now have access to the millions of products offered by Amazon, and [will] have the ability to pay for their items with cash through the premier money transfer service in the world at participating locations island-wide,” she continued.

Amazon and Western Union say the partnership will help get eCommerce goods to people who wouldn’t normally have access to them.