Amazon Pay UPI Crosses 100 Mn User Mark

Amid a surge in online transactions in India, ecommerce major Amazon’s digital payments service Amazon Pay Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has crossed the 100 Mn user mark in the country.

The transactions boom on the platform was fueled by strong user interest across states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Karnataka, with a growing adoption of Amazon Pay UPI in tier II and III cities and among users in the age of 18-24, the company said in a statement.

Vikas Bansal, CEO of Amazon Pay India, said, “UPI has revolutionized the way customers transact online and we see a vast, untapped potential within the UPI ecosystem, including opportunities in wallet-on-UPI and credit line on UPI. We are humbled and proud that 100 Mn customers have chosen Amazon Pay UPI as their preferred choice of online payment experience.”

Launched in 2019, Amazon Pay UPI offers a wide range of financial services, including money transfers, bill payments, insurance purchases, travel bookings, and investments in mutual funds and digital gold through Amazon’s ecommerce app.

Amid a boost in usage of its digital payments arm, Amazon is reportedly contemplating launching a standalone app for Amazon Pay. The purported move is aimed at increasing the visibility of the platform, along with user engagement.

The plans for a standalone app for Amazon Pay comes at a time when the ecommerce major has been ramping up efforts to drive the growth of its digital payment services arm. In June, Amazon infused INR 600 Cr (about $72 Mn) in Amazon Pay India, taking its overall investment in the arm to INR 1,950 Cr. 

Amazon Pay India secured the approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payments aggregator (PA) back in February. Besides, it also holds a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) licence. 

In a bid to further expand its fintech offerings, the entity is reportedly working with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to roll out credit services to customers through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) since April. 

In July, Amazon Pay processed the sixth-highest UPI transactions in India. It witnessed a total of 7.24 Cr customer transactions in the month cumulatively worth INR 7,995.92 Cr.