Amazon Has Its Own 'Key' to Thousands of Apartment Buildings Across America

Amazon’s “Key for Business” system allows delivery drivers to access apartment buildings without having to be buzzed in and the system has been installed in thousands of apartment buildings across the United States. The e-commerce giant reportedly entices building managers with gift cards as incentives to install the system.

The Verge reports that Amazon’s “Key for Business” system allows delivery drivers to gain access to apartment buildings without having to be buzzed in, and has been installed in thousands of buildings across the United States. The company is reportedly pushing to get the system installed in more buildings, offering free installations and $100 gift cards to building managers as incentives.

The system is designed to make it easier for Amazon drivers to make deliveries to apartment buildings; drivers don’t have to wait for residents or a concierge to buzz them in but can use the system to gain temporary access to lobbies via the Amazon Flex app.

In a technical breakdown of the system published by Amazon in 2019, the system reportedly increased the success of first-time deliveries from 96 to around 98 percent. The technology arrived as a pilot program in 2018 before getting an official launch the following year.

While Amazon has a similar system for homeowners to install in private properties, Key for Business is installed by building managers who reportedly are not under any obligation to gain permission from tenants to install the system or inform them when it’s in use.

Amazon is reportedly pushing to expand the number of buildings the system is installed in and is pitching Key for Business to building managers and partnering with locksmiths to offer installations, sometimes free of charge.