Amazon Pay to Launch Standalone App in India, Boosting Financial Market Potential
Amazon is making waves in the Indian market by considering the launch of a standalone app for its popular payment service, Amazon Pay. This move comes as the e-commerce giant aims to increase the usage and visibility of Amazon Pay in the country.
Currently housed within the main Amazon e-commerce app in India, Amazon Pay offers a wide range of services including money transfers, bill payments, insurance purchases, travel ticket bookings, mutual fund investments, and digital gold purchases. However, some executives at Amazon believe that Amazon Pay is not getting the attention it deserves within the e-commerce app.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Amazon has been mulling over the idea of separating its payments service from the e-commerce app for about a year and is now planning to move forward with the plan in the near future. The goal is to give Amazon Pay a dedicated platform to help it gain more recognition and usage in the Indian market.
While the discussions are still confidential and ongoing, it is important to note that Amazon may alter its plans or even abandon the idea altogether due to various challenges it faces in the Indian market. An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the news, calling it speculation.
Despite its current position as the sixth-ranked app on the Unified Payments Interface network in India, with about 72.4 million transactions processed in July, Amazon Pay still lags behind competitors like Walmart's PhonePe and Google Pay. This move to launch a standalone app could potentially help Amazon Pay gain more traction and compete more effectively in the Indian market.
It's worth noting that Amazon is not the only player in the Indian market exploring new strategies. Flipkart, Amazon's chief rival in India, recently consolidated its fintech offerings into one vertical, following a trend of simplifying and streamlining services in the competitive Indian market.
Overall, the launch of a standalone app for Amazon Pay in India has the potential to shake up the financial market and provide users with a more focused and convenient platform for their payment needs. As an investor or consumer, keeping an eye on these developments could offer insights into the evolving landscape of digital payments in India and potentially impact your financial decisions in the future.