Chennai: As part of Amazon India’s endeavor to digitally enable small & medium businesses (SMBs) Amazon Pay announced that it has empowered over 85 lakh+ offline small business owners and entrepreneurs with its digital payments infrastructure.
Earlier, these merchants largely transacted in cash for business operations, now they accept payments from their customers using Amazon Pay’s QR Code. Furthermore, initiatives such as Amazon Pay for Business App, voice notification feature, easy availability of working capital loans, have enabled such micro-businesses, and merchants to experience a convenient digital journey.
Mahendra Nerurkar, CEO & VP, Amazon Pay India said “SMBs form the backbone of India’s economic growth. Our aim is to empower offline merchants, provide them with opportunities to expand their businesses, and enhance their payment experience amongst multiple other touch-points that expedites their digital journey. This milestone is a testimony of the trust that India’s 85 lakh+ SMBs have on us and we are truly humbled. We will continue to remain focused in our efforts to bring forth holistic initiatives, transform the way India pays and further catalyze the payment acceptance ecosystem for SMBs.”
In its journey to bridge the digital divide between India and Bharat, Amazon Pay has enabled a diverse ensemble of small merchants and entrepreneurs. Of the 85 lakh+ SMBs, there are more than 40 lakh retail and shopping outlets such as kirana stores, general stores; over 13 lakh food and beverage outlets such as restaurants, small eateries, fast-food joints; around 30 lakh service providers such as salons, mobile recharge, internet café, health and medical care, travel and transport, education services, store owners comprising of miscellaneous categories and more.
Sharing some of the benefits of using Amazon Pay, Sai, owner of Sai Apollo Medical Store, Andhra Pradesh, said: “Service becomes faster and we face fewer problems when Amazon Pay is used. The platform makes it so much easier to handle transactions. Since my competitors do not offer the option of digital payment, customers prefer to buy from me, which has greatly benefited my business.”
“With digital transaction services like Amazon Pay, the average retail store owner like me is finding it easy to keep customer accounts in check. Earlier, when cash was more prevalent, we often found it challenging to make the day’s finances reflect in our bank accounts – as a number of micro-transactions with loose change would muddle the amount at hand,” said Pawan, who runs a food joint in Barasat, West Bengal.
“Now, we conduct over 25-30 transactions per day with the help of Amazon Pay. Every store owner in the vicinity is transitioning to digital payments. Easy access to UPI-based transactions has solved the problem we used to face earlier,” he added.
