• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechAmazon

Amazon’s Alexa Is Now Your Bank Teller

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 11, 2016, 10:59 AM ET

Amazon’s virtual personal assistant Alexa is now able to handle your finances—kinda.

Capital One (COF) customers who own an Alexa-enabled device can now check balances, find out when bills are due, and even pay bills through Amazon’s virtual assistant, the companies announced on Friday. Capital One is the first bank to use Amazon’s (AMZN) Alexa to let users access and interact with their financial information.

Amazon’s Alexa is similar to Apple’s (AAPL) Siri in providing customers the ability to use their voices to issue a wide range of commands. The app runs on Amazon hardware, including the tech giant’s Amazon Echo and the recently announced Echo Dot, among other devices.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Over the last couple of years, Amazon has added several “skills” to its cloud-based personal assistant. In addition to simple commands, like finding out what is on the user’s calendar or setting alarms, Alexa is capable of turning on lights in the home and even ordering pizzas from Domino’s. Alexa comes with a companion iOS and Android app to link to the many services it supports, including Spotify as well as Domino’s. The service is most commonly activated by simply saying “Alexa,” followed by a command.

Adding Capital One to the mix is a logical extension of Alexa’s features. Indeed, Alexa’s appeal is in making it easier for users to perform tasks or access information. Being able to get updates on a credit card balance and to tell Capital One to pay that balance is more of the same.

While Amazon has faced difficulty competing with the likes of Apple and Google (GOOGL) in the smartphone and tablet businesses, Alexa has added a wide range of skills that could cause some to question whether it’s more functional than its alternatives Siri and Google Now. Adding a banking component may lend more credence to that argument.

Read more: Forget Siri, Amazon now brings you Alexa

Still, there are some limitations that Amazon needs to overcome. Siri and Google Now are running on the hundreds of millions of iOS- and Android-based handsets purchased each year. Amazon’s Echo, a somewhat popular smart home device, cannot come close to matching those sales numbers. It’s also unclear how well Amazon’s new Tap and Echo Dot will perform on (digital) store shelves, and the company is facing significant competition in the set-top box market, where its Alexa-equipped Fire TV is available. So, while Alexa may be among the more skillful personal assistants, it’s facing significant headwinds.

For more on Amazon’s Alexa, watch:

For those Capital One customers who have an Echo, however, the time has come to turn her into a bank teller. According to the companies, users need only to pair Alexa and Capital One accounts from the Alexa mobile app. Once complete, they can start asking Alexa about financial account information.

The Capital One Alexa skill is available now.

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
After decades in the music industry, Pharrell Williams admits he never stops working: ‘If you do what you love everyday, you’ll get paid for free'
By Emma BurleighFebruary 3, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Peter Thiel warns the Antichrist and apocalypse are linked to the ‘end of modernity’ currently happening—and cites Greta Thunberg as a driving example
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 4, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
OpenAI’s Sam Altman says his highly disciplined daily routine has ‘fallen to crap’—and now unwinds on weekends at a ranch with no cell phone service
By Jacqueline MunisFebruary 5, 2026
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Ray Dalio warns the world is ‘on the brink’ of a capital war of weaponizing money—and gold is the best way for people to protect themselves
By Sasha RogelbergFebruary 4, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Trump is giving the U.S. economy a $65 billion tax-refund shot in the arm, mostly for higher-income people, BofA says
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 5, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Tech stocks go into free fall as it dawns on traders that AI has the ability to cut revenues across the board
By Jim EdwardsFebruary 4, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

Image of Moltbook app logo on a smart phone with another image of the Moltbook logo in the background.
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Moltbook is the talk of Silicon Valley. But the furor is eerily reminiscent of a 2017 Facebook research experiment
By Allie GarfinkleFebruary 6, 2026
4 hours ago
NewslettersFortune Tech
Gemini takes a bite out of ChatGPT share
By Alexei OreskovicFebruary 6, 2026
4 hours ago
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange monitor the early moves of the market soon after the trading day began in New York 05 August, 1999.
InvestingMarkets
Software selloff giving you deja vu? We’ve been here before, says Deutsche Bank, when the dotcom bubble burst
By Eleanor PringleFebruary 6, 2026
4 hours ago
johnsson
Commentaryvaluations
When the music stops: the unravelling of AI companies’ flawed valuations
By Mikael JohnssonFebruary 6, 2026
6 hours ago
Sam Altman speaking into a mic.
AIOpenAI
OpenAI’s new model leaps ahead in coding capabilities—but raises unprecedented cybersecurity risks
By Sharon GoldmanFebruary 5, 2026
19 hours ago
tiktok
CybersecuritySocial Media
Gen Z is rebelling against TikTok USA by installing another app—founded by an Oracle alum
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 5, 2026
19 hours ago