Amazon Pay Unveils Indian Bill Payments, Acquires Startup Tapzo

Amazon has introduced a new bill payments facility in India that allows users to pay for electricity, landline, broadband and other utilities with their Amazon Pay accounts.

According to BGR India, the service is available with more than 100 major billers throughout India, including BSES, Tata Power, BESCOM, BSNL, Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Jio and ACT. It can also be used to pay credit/debit card bills, to book movie tickets and more.

“The launch of bill payments on Amazon reinforces Amazon’s commitment to Indian customers to provide them [with] new categories and a wide selection of services. We shall continue to innovate on behalf of customers as we simplify the payments experience in India. We now have all the major categories across mobile recharges and bill payments available for customers,” said Shariq Plasticwala, director of payments for Amazon.

In addition, sources have reported that Amazon Pay has acquired Bengaluru-based and Sequoia-backed startup Tapzo in a cash-and-stock deal, valuing the startup at $30-$40 million. While Amazon did not confirm the acquisition, a spokeswoman said the company is committed to building its digital payments business in India.

“Our commitment to the vision of a less-cash India remains the same. Our goal is to make it easier than ever before for customers to make digital payments by improving customer experience, affordability and daily routines,” the Amazon spokeswoman said, according to Deal Street Asia.

With competition in India heating up, Amazon is doing whatever it takes to compete with rivals such as Flipkart’s PhonePe and Alibaba-backed Paytm. In June, it was reported that after committing $5 billion to investments in India, Amazon reportedly wants to increase its investment by $2 billion.

“Amazon has had its eyes and ears firmly on the ground and has been carefully planning its strategy,” an unnamed source said. “India is one of its fastest-growing geographies, and Amazon will not be left behind.”