Amazon is asking its customers to reenter their credit card information today in an attempt to encourage participation in its new Pay Directly From Your Bank Account option. Skipping the credit card companies will save Amazon the transaction fees, but how will it help you?

Amazon Says:

* You can use this option to pay for a wider selection of items than you can currently buy from Amazon.com with a paper check or money order.
* Your orders will arrive more quickly than if you pay with a check or money order, as we don’t need to wait to receive your payment in the mail.
* “Pay directly from your bank account” is very secure and you won’t have to worry about lost or stolen checks.
* There are no annual fees or finance charges that you might incur with credit cards.

So if you’re one of the three or four cabin-dwelling upstarts who still inexplicably trust the American banking system, but don’t trust credit cards then you’ll be better off shopping through a direct transfer than sending a check or money order.

If you’re a fellow credit card user—and surely most Amazon shoppers are—we think that Amazon needs to give us a reason to save them money (and miss our on our credit card rewards and protections).

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