Amazon to infuse fresh investment in its Indian payment arm

To consolidate its payment services in India, e-commerce giant Amazon is all set to put in fresh investment into its digital payment arm Amazon Pay.

According to VC circle report, the firm passed the resolution for investment on August 25. The purpose investment is likely to be around Rs 1600 crore, as per the RoC filings.

Amazon, which has committed to invest $5 billion in the Indian market, does not rely on external funding. Earlier, Amazon Pay had secured two fundings of $20 million and $10.67 million from two investors.

Also Read: Amazon Pay launches mobile wallet, set to partner with govt for bill payments

Well aware of the existing competition from rivals in the market, the firm is keen on expanding its own payment services.

"All e-commerce majors realise that if they have to get a share of the consumer wallet to grow their business, it is important to have their own wallet. Whether it’s high-ticket, low-volume transactions or vice versa, companies have to be present where the money is flowing," Anup Jain, managing partner at consumer and retail research firm Redback Advisory Services was quoted as saying to VCcircle.

Indian customers have passed over from paper economy to online transaction when it comes to paying money, he added. Data shows that paper money has gone down about 20% in between 2012-2013. In November 2016, UPI transactions have increased about Rs 90 crore to Rs 3,070 in June.

Also Read: Amazon injects Rs 130 crore in its Indian payment unit

Amazon Pay, which came in July, mainly accepted for online movie booking, traveling ordering food online and has now tied up with 25 brands online stores.

During the recently concluded festive sale, the e-commerce major claimed that its wallet and payment options did 27% more transactions than usual days. The company will commence another sale from Oct 4-8. The company also claimed to have registered a 34 times increase in the number of customers opting for EMIs, and 48 times rise for the zero-cost EMI option.

Home-grown e-tailer Flipkart too had the festive sale and reported to have outrun Amazon in sales. Flipkart reported generating around Rs 5000 crore in its first festive season whereas Amazon did the sale of around Rs 2500-3000 crore. Though, Seatle-based e-tailer disputed the figure.