Voice commands via Alexa in tandem with Amazon Pay now enables users in India to pay utility, internet, mobile and satellite cable TV bills, as reported on Wednesday (Oct. 16).
India is the first market to have access to this combination of Amazon Pay and Alexa to pay bills. Shopping with Alexa via voice commands and Amazon Pay are both available on their own in many markets.
Amazon Pay is particularly welcomed in India, following the government’s 2016 invalidation of much of the paper currency in circulation.
The eCommerce giant told the news outlet that “three times more customers” used Amazon Pay at India’s recent six-day Hindu festival of Diwali compared to last year. Amazon Pay was used for 25 percent of all digital transactions during the event.
Users in India have been incentivized to use Amazon Pay, getting cashback and discounts on food, tickets and merchandise from some third-party payment services. “Customers booked flight tickets worth 300 trips around the earth,” Amazon told the outlet.
Puneesh Kumar, country manager of Alexa experiences and devices, said Amazon Pay is convenient for users, particularly for recurring bills.
In April, Amazon Pay was launched in India for person-to-person (P2P) payments for Android users. The eCommerce giant said the service can be used to settle bills and expenses with friends, lend or return money to friends and family, pay rent, cover the cost of services, pay for subscriptions and make payments at local stores. The app can also be used to pay an Amazon delivery associate at the doorstep by scanning UPI QR codes via the Amazon Pay app.
The app is built on the Indian government’s UPI platform, which enables customers to send or receive P2P payments by selecting a contact on their phone or entering a UPI ID or bank account.
“Our goal is to make Amazon Pay the most trusted, convenient and rewarding way to pay for our customers. The customers trust their Amazon app, and we continue to expand payment use cases directly on the app,” said Vikas Bansal, director of Amazon Pay, in a press release.
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