Amazon Launches Digital Currency for Kindle Fire Customers

Kindle Fire owners are getting an extra $5.00 in their Amazon accounts today in Amazon Coins, a new digital currency Amazon is launching that can be used to purchase items in the Amazon Appstore or on Kindle Fire. Customers can save money on Amazon apps, games and in-app purchases by buying Amazon Coins in bulk and receiving a 10% discount, a statement released today by the company said. Each Amazon Coin will be worth one cent, according to Amazon.

Amazon said that application developers will earn their usual 70% revenue share when their apps are purchased using Amazon Coins. Developers with apps already in the Amazon Appstore will not have to make any changes to those apps, the statement also said.

The new digital currency comes on the heels of news of a potential Amazon mobile wallet that came out last month after the online retailer applied for a patent. Amazon seems to have big plans in the payments space moving forward, and the company's vice president of apps and games, Mike George, said that the company plans to add more ways to earn and spend Amazon Coins in the future.

Jonathan Camhi has been an associate editor with Bank Systems & Technology since 2012. He previously worked as a freelance journalist in New York City covering politics, health and immigration, and has a master's degree from the City University of New York's Graduate School ... View Full Bio