This infographic shows the potential for Amazon student loans.
Student loans make up a significant chunk of debt for Americans: about $1.48 trillion. Amazon is carrying momentum at the moment and it has many people wondering: would Amazon student loans be a good thing?
The company, if anyone, has the potential and brand value to compete in this space, but what is the public opinion surrounding Amazon student loans?
Lendedu surveyed 1,000 current college students that hold student loan debt to find out their opinions on hypothetical Amazon student loans, and the results were surprising. Although Amazon does not currently offer student loans, students surveyed viewed the idea of Amazon student loans in a positive light. A majority of respondents—66.8 percent—said they would be willing to use an Amazon-created student loan while 22.3 percent were unsure, and only 10.9 percent would not be open to using such a financial product.
These are numbers a company like Amazon can work with. Taking this small sample group and applying it to the current student loan debt in America would imply a new revenue stream worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Amazon is also trusted by 40.1 percent of respondents who noted they would trust Amazon with handling their student loans more than the Department of Education. About a quarter said they would trust Amazon the same as the Department of Education. This means that, as far as brands are concerned, there is a strong likelihood that Amazon could compete with the current student loan providers.
Americans have more student loan debt than ever before: 44.2 million Americans now have student loan debt. The forward-thinking of Jeff Bezos and his team at Amazon have inspired some real trust and the potential for big change in the student loan market. Amazon already has plans to enter the healthcare space, will Amazon student loans be next?