Amazon Acquires Emvantage To Develop India-Specific Payment Solutions

US-based ecommerce major, Amazon.com Inc, is in the process to acquire Noida-based online payment solutions provider EMVANTAGE Payments Pvt Ltd, for an undisclosed amount.

As part of the deal, Emvantage’s employees will join Amazon’s payments team to develop solutions, tailored for the Indian market. According to the reports, the acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.

Emvantage was started in 2012 by Vivek Sagar. It provides ‘platform as a service’ for online merchants, banks and merchant aggregators offering a payment gateway for online transactions made using credit or debit cards and netbanking.

The company has developed a series of payment solutions including a payment gateway, mobile payment solutions and pre-paid card solutions that integrate into merchant apps, and a prepaid wallet.

Srinivas Rao, Director, Amazon Payments India, said, “Emvantage is a valuable addition to our team as we accelerate our payment offerings, ensuring the best in class online payment experience anywhere that customers shop with us.”

As India’s ecommerce market is expected to be worth $100 Mn by 2020, ecommerce companies are leaving no stone unturned. They have been making significant investments, acquisitions and partnerships with payment companies to grab a share of the digital payments vertical, which helps reduce the dependency on cash and make it convenient for online shopping. In the realm, Snapdeal and Flipkart are already ahead in time by making acquisitions of payment gateway companies in past. Snapdeal acquired Klickpay and Freecharge, while Flipkart acquired payment services startup FX Mart, last year. Prior to this, Flipkart announced that it will be shutting down its payment gateway Payzippy and might acquire ngpay.

Amazon has been bullish in the Indian market. From establishing warehouses to increasing its merchant base, the company has been steadily coming at par with the local rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal. Recently, It invested about $300 Mn (INR 1,980 Cr.) in Amazon Seller Services to boost its presence in India. This  acquisition would help Amazon accelerate the development of convenient and trustworthy payment solutions for customers and the ecommerce industry in India.

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