Even as e-commerce giants Reliance Retail and Jio Mart, and Flipkart receive a fresh injection of funds to prepare for the festival season in India, its main rival Amazon is also preparing for the same. Amazon.com Inc has invested Rs 700 crore (€95,51 million) in its Indian payment unit. The new funding round is Amazon's second investment in Amazon Pay this year, after the company injected Rs 1.355 crore in January. Amazon kicks off its holiday season sales on October 17 and is trying to encourage payments through Amazon Pay with cash back and other rewards. The month-long sale will help small businesses and sellers reach more customers across the country, giving consumers and sellers more time and opportunities on the platform.
Amazon Pay launches new features
Amazon Pay had recently increased its authorized share capital to Rs 16,000 crore from Rs 6,000 crore. It was a clear indication that the company was ready for significant investment as it prepared to take on rivals like Google Pay. PhonePe and Paytm. Amazon Pay is also said to speed up the release of new features. Amazon Pay has launched a credit card bill payment and train ticket booking service in partnership with IRCTC. Amazon needs new funding because its rivals are doing the same. Reliance Retail has attracted big investors. The other big Flipkart also follows the same strategy. Gaming and social media giant Tencent has invested $62,8 million in Flipkart's $1.200 billion investment round. The investment is believed to be part of the €1.2 billion Flipkart cycle led by Walmart in July.