Australian Dollar Rallies on Hawkish RBA Outlook; Yen Slips as BOJ Faces Political Pressure 
Germany and China Reaffirm Open Trade and Strategic Partnership in Landmark Beijing Visit 
Trump Warns Iran as Gulf Conflict Disrupts Oil Markets and Global Trade 
Netflix Declines to Raise Bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Amid Competing Paramount Skydance Offer 
Panama Investigates CK Hutchison’s Port Unit After Court Voids Canal Contracts 
USITC to Review Impact of Revoking China’s PNTR Status, Potentially Raising Tariffs on Chinese Imports 
OpenAI Pentagon AI Contract Adds Safeguards Amid Anthropic Dispute 
Gold Prices Steady in Asia, Set for Strong February Gains on Safe-Haven Demand 
Hyundai Motor Group to Invest $6.26 Billion in AI Data Center, Robotics and Renewable Energy Projects in South Korea 
Trump Touts Stock Market Gains and 401(k) Boost Amid Tariff Uncertainty 
Pentagon Weighs Supply Chain Risk Designation for Anthropic Over Claude AI Use 
Nintendo Share Sale: MUFG and Bank of Kyoto to Sell Stakes in Strategic Unwinding 
China’s New Home Prices Post Sharpest Drop Since 2022 Amid Ongoing Property Slump 
Strait of Hormuz Oil and LNG Shipments Disrupted After U.S.-Israel Strikes on Iran 
Tokyo Core Inflation Slows Below 2%, Complicating BOJ Rate Hike Outlook 
Gold Prices Rally in February as Geopolitical Risks and Economic Uncertainty Boost Safe-Haven Demand 
Amazon debuts its new shopping portal on Monday, Oct. 3. The company named it “Amazon Access,” and it was specially built for customers who are receiving government assistance.
As per CNN Business, Amazon already has services for customers under the low-income bracket. The company is offering them various services, including discounted membership on Amazon Prime.
It also accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for the customers’ grocery purchases on Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, and Amazon Grocery. Now this will also be integrated into the new Amazon Access through the SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), a layaway program that customers can use to pay for their purchases over time.
There will be coupons for essential grocery items in addition to other discounts. The e-commerce and tech firm said that the portal was designed to put all the benefits in one place to become a centralized hub for everything related to government assistance for low-income individuals and families.
In addition, Amazon announced that it has also changed the name of its discounted Prime membership to Prime Access to celebrate the new milestone of making discounts more accessible to shoppers. All qualified customers are welcome to register for the service via the Amazon Access portal.
“We are introducing Amazon Access, a one-stop-shop for customers to explore programs, discounts, and features that make shopping on Amazon even easier and more affordable,” Amazon said in a statement on Monday, Oct. 3. “Over the last five years, we have committed to making Amazon’s everyday selection and savings accessible to customers by offering a discounted membership for qualifying government assistance recipients.”
Retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData Retail, Neil Saunders, said that Amazon Access could really be very useful for customers with low income. He added that this is really a good program that shows Amazon helping shoppers who are in a tight spot amid the tough economic situation today.
“It is something positive Amazon can point to, which shows it is helping hard-pressed consumers during a more difficult economic period,” he said. “Amazon should be able to generate some incremental sales out of consolidating the benefits into a new shopfront.”
