Amazon Pay to tie up with NPCI for credit services on UPI platform: Report 

Amazon Pay is planning to kick off credit services on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform as part of a deal with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). This initiative aims to enhance customer experience and value propositions, Vikas Bansal of Amazon Pay India told The Financial Express (FE).

In February of this year, Amazon Pay was granted a payment aggregator license by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), thereby broadening its array of financial services. Previously, it had secured approval from the central bank for a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) license.

Recently, Amazon Pay tied up with RBL Bank for UPI payments, ICICI Bank for FASTag recharge, and the introduction of the Amazon Pay ICICI co-branded credit card.

The report said that there have been many uncertainties regarding the interchange fee structure around credit for UPI transaction. There has also been low adoption among smaller merchants which has restricted growth of credit for UPI transactions. Bansal said that Amazon has an extensive network of merchants who could “help establish a discount rate” which may help in incentivise all stakeholders.

“Improving customer experience and value proposition is one of our key goals, and we’re partnering with NPCI to work towards this initiative. Credit on UPI is a significant milestone we’re looking forward to achieving,” Bansal said.

Over 100 million customers utiliSe Amazon Pay UPI for various transactions. Amazon also provides instant credit with Amazon Pay Later, enabling customers to buy on the platform through equated monthly installments. This service enhances convenience and flexibility for users' financial transactions and shopping experiences.

Amazon Finance India offers Buy Now, Pay Later in partnership with Axio, IDFC FIRST Bank, and Karur Vysya Bank. Amazon Pay Later has garnered 9 million customer sign-ups. 

Amazon Pay has collaborated with around 8.5 million physical stores in 350 urban and rural locations, in addition to more than 10,000 online merchants.

Additionally, NPCI has recently unveiled three new features for UPI-linked RuPay credit cards, including EMI facilities, UPI AutoPay for credit card bill settlements, and enhanced credit limits, promising further advancements in digital payments, set to roll out from May 31.

Last year in October, Amazon introduced the option for RuPay credit card users to make payments on EMIs in a bid to make shopping more convenient and affordable for shoppers.

Introduced in 2019, Amazon Pay offers several payment options like Pay Later, Pay Wallet, and UPI to name a few. The e-commerce platform also offers rewards for new and frequent customers.