Digital payments are set to get a boost with Amazon Online Distribution Services securing a pre-paid payment instrument licence from the Reserve Bank of India. “RBI is finalising the guidelines for PPIs. We look forward to seeing a continuation of the low limit wallet dispensation with simplified KYC and authentication. This will allow us to help customers adopt digital payments at scale and thereby contribute towards making India a less cash economy,” Sriram Jagannathan, VP Payments, Amazon India said in an e-mailed statement.
The government has been incentivising consumers to move to a less cash economy; in November last year, it demonetised high denomination notes of `500 and `1,000. While the value of digital transactions has picked up since then the growth has been restricted to certain segments such as the Unified Payments Interface.
“We recently launched Amazon Pay where customers can fund their pre-paid balance using internet banking and credit or debit card for smooth purchases and payments. With this, customers can go cashless and enjoy fast and easy checkouts, quicker refunds coupled with a secured shopping experience only on Amazon.in. We will continue to look for ways to improve customer experience and increasing digital payments leveraging our PPI licence,” Jagannathan added.
Amazon Online Distribution Services operates Amazon Pay, payment option at offline partners of Amazon and for online customer to pay at its e-commerce marketplace – Amazon.in or its grocery platform – Amazon Now. But the PPI licence from RBI will further strengthen Amazon Pay’s network in the market. The wallet will ensure customer stickiness and Amazon may continue to offer cashback and other incentives to scale the business.
Amazon joins the league of 84 companies which have licences from RBI. The launch of the wallet will put Amazon in direct competition with companies such as Paytm, Flipkart’s PhonePe, MobiKwik and FreeCharge.