Amazon Expands Prime In India

Bango, the mobile payments company, announced on Monday (Jan. 15) that it is providing resale and bundling technology to eCommerce giant Amazon.

In a press release, the company said that with the resale deal, customers in India can sign up to be members of Amazon Prime via resellers that offer product bundles. Bango said that Bharti Airtel, the Indian mobile network operator, will be the first to make Amazon Prime available to Indian consumers via a bundled package. Customers can activate the service via the Airtel TV app and get one free year of Prime membership.

“Bango partners have identified another way to meet customer needs for instant, uninterrupted access to the best content and services. Bundles and resale are a natural business model extension for merchants wanting to increase customer reach,” commented Ray Anderson, CEO of Bango. “This launch highlights the versatility of the Bango platform and strength of relationships that have seen Bango take partners into new territories, for new types of goods and services, through one standard platform.”

On the Bango platform, the service becomes active as soon as a customer accepts the bundle package deal. Amazon Prime is a new application on the platform, the company noted.

In June of this year, Bango launched Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) for Amazon customers. In November, the company launched Amazon Prime and Prime Student membership programs on its platform.

The move on the part of Bango to include Amazon Prime as a bundled deal comes at a time when an eCommerce battle is happening in India. Amazon is trying to make inroads in the market, which already has established players. In July, Amazon decided to bring its Prime Day to the country, marking the first time that India consumers were able to participate in the event and opening up business for the subcontinent’s 1.3 billion people.