National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) shares are in the green today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stock closed yesterday trading for $39.90. In early afternoon trade on Friday, shares are changing hands for $40.01 apiece, up 0.26%.
This sees the big four bank stock up 22.7% since this time last year. Atop the strong share price gains, NAB shares also trade on a fully franked trailing dividend yield of 4.2%.
That's the latest price action for you.
Now, here's why the big four bank is making news today.
NAB shares get closer ties with Amazon
NAB shares are forming a closer link with Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN).
In a media release this morning, the ASX 200 bank said its Pay by Bank (PayTo) solution was now available at checkout on Amazon's Australian store.
PayTo enables people to make a purchase directly from their bank account, removing the need to provide card details and reducing Amazon's credit card fees.
NAB noted that once a customer approves this as an online banking payment method, Amazon shoppers can use PayTo to for one-off or recurring payments straight from their bank account, "with a single click".
While any immediate impact on NAB shares may be modest, it could expand the bank's business footprint.
Shane Conway, NAB executive, enterprise payments and technology modernisation, labelled the PayTo launch to Amazon's Australia store a win for its customers, its sellers and the continued simplification of digital payments.
"Our goal is to provide our business customers with simple, safe and convenient payment options to support their growth and customers with excellent experiences," Conway said.
Conway added:
By integrating our new Pay by Bank (PayTo) capability into its Australian store, Amazon is providing its customers with a new, easy, and secure way for them to pay, while at the same time delivering a cost efficient, instant payment solution for its business.
For many businesses – in particular retailers – PayTo lowers the cost of doing business, while also helping to mitigate the risk of fraud. As a result, we're seeing more businesses adopting PayTo, and we expect this to continue into 2025 and beyond.
Sujit Misra, Amazon's director of APAC payments, said, "This adds a simple, secure, and convenient payment solution, ensuring our customers have choice and can pay according to their preferences when they checkout on Amazon."
Commenting on the growth of PayTo, which could offer some sustained tailwinds for NAB shares, FinTech Australia CEO Rehan D'Almeida said (quoted by The Australian Financial Review):
PayTo is now tipping into the mainstream, and we are seeing a growing number of use cases driving this adoption, and we only expect this to continue to grow. PayTo should form a critical pillar of every organisation's payments strategy given it is secure, real-time and digital.
