Amazon and Walmart-Owned Flipkart Make Lending Push in India

Retail rivals Walmart and Amazon are reportedly expanding their lending footprint in India.

For Amazon, that means plans to offer loans to small business owners in the world’s most populous country, while the Walmart-owned Flipkart is exploring buy now, pay later (BNPL) products, Reuters reported Friday (Nov. 28).

As the report noted, Amazon this year acquired the Indian nonbank lender Axio, which already offers BNPL and personal loans and now plans to offer credit for small businesses, as well as cash management solutions.

“We see tremendous headroom for expanding credit growth in India, particularly among digitally engaged customers and small businesses outside of the top [cities],” Mahendra Nerurkar, vice president for payments for emerging markets at Amazon, told Reuters.

He added the company would be “designing tailored lending propositions” for merchants and small businesses to boost cash flow management efficiency and unlock capital.

Flipkart, in which Walmart holds an 80% stake, has registered its nonbank lending arm, Flipkart Finance, and is awaiting the Reserve Bank of India’s approval for its business plans, Reuters added. The report cited company filings showing two kinds of planned pay-later offerings: no-cost monthly installment loans for eCommerce shoppers spread over three to 24 months, and loans for consumer durables at 18%-26% interest rate per year.

Flipkart expects to begin offering these financial products next year, a source with direct knowledge of the company’s plans told Reuters.

As covered here last week, BNPL has remained a popular topic in 2025, although PYMNTS Intelligence research has found that consumers are using it responsibly and strategically.

In her 2025 analysis of BNPL, PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster said between 97% and 98% of BNPL users manage their installment obligations on time. The data showed that 23.4% of consumers use pay later plans for scheduling flexibility, 24.1% because it does not feel like accruing new debt, and 23.3% because it offers better control over payments.

In an inflationary year, this disciplined use of installments presents consumers with financial breathing room.

“It’s something issuers, merchants and households can be thankful for, a flexible tool that enhances stability without introducing disproportionate risk,” the report added.

That installment option has also found its way to debit and credit cards. In an interview last month with Webster, Splitit CEO Nandan Sheth said marrying “transactional credit” with debit cards has a positive ripple effect, as “the consumer will pay lower fees [and] the banks will earn new fee income on debit portfolios. …”

“It’s a good cross-section of a segment that is large but underserved,” he added.