Year 2016 might turn out to be a watershed year for the payments industry. Payments companies are aggressively pushing with their secured payment systems and it appears that Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is not in a mood to fall back in the race.The e-commerce giant announced on Monday at Money 2020 that it’s launching the Amazon Payments Partner program, an extension of Amazon Payments service.The new endeavor is a global platform that will allow merchants and developers to synchronize Amazon Payments service with their online stores.Amazon Payment service is already in use by online retailers. However, it’s more beneficial for customers who need not create a separate login with the retailers and are allowed to transact with their Amazon account.The service is appealing because merchants can increase conversions and boost sales by making check outs easier and quicker.On the other hand, it will directly benefit online merchant platforms. Those partnering with Amazon will be able to incorporate Amazon Payments service in to their online stores and offer the option to their own merchants and sellers.It will also allow partners to co-market with Amazon and use a wide range of services like account management, planning support, glove integration, technical resources and training, and more.This three tier program is currently available on an invitation-only basis in the U.S., U.K. and Japan.The three program levels are Premier Partner, Certified Partner and Certified Developer, each offering different kinds of support and benefit according to the partner’s status.Amazon’s website shows a long list of partner platforms including Shopify, Prestashop and Future Shop.We believe that the Seattle retail giant’s new move is smart enough to provide it with a two-fold advantage. The company will be able to put itself in strong competition with PayPal Holdings, Inc.’s PYPL Braintee, Apple Inc.’s AAPL Apple Pay and Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL Android Service Pay on the one hand and bring smaller online merchants and retailers under its umbrella on the other.At present, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report AMAZON.COM INC (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report APPLE INC (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report ALPHABET INC-A (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report PAYPAL HOLDINGS (PYPL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research