According to reports in India, e-commerce behemoth Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is set to add to its portfolio by buying an Indian payments company.
The deal will see Amazon acquire online payment service provider Emvantage Payments Private Ltd. So far the exact terms of the deal have not been announced and the cost of the deal remains undisclosed, according to Reuters.
Emvantage staff will join Amazon payments team to work on solutions for Indian market
According to a statement released by the company, the acquisition will aid Amazon in helping to pick up the pace of developing payment solutions and the e-commerce sector in India. Under the terms of the deal, staff at Emvantage will become part of their new parent company’s payments team, working on new payment products and solutions tailor made for the Indian market.
The company revealed that it expects the deal to be completed by the first quarter of 2016, but did not disclose how much money it would pay for Emvantage.
“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,” Amazon Payments India director Srinivas Rao said.
Amazon provides further evidence of interest in India
So far Emvantage has been responsible for a number of payment solutions. Among them are a payment gateway, mobile payment solutions and pre-paid cards. Amazon appears to be hoping that Emvantage can help in gain an edge in the ongoing fight for supremacy in India’s e-commerce space.
The company is currently locked in battle with Flipkart, Snapdeal and other companies. Amazon is presumably excited by continued growth in the e-commerce industry in the world’s second most populous country, after China.
E-commerce is growing fast in India, and the country is the fast growing e-commerce market in the Asia-Pacific region. Analysts believe that growth is being driven by increased rates of internet use and the growing amount of disposable income enjoyed by Indian consumers.
Online sales currently sit around $20 billion per year and are forecast to rise to as much as $53 billion by 2023. Amazon is well placed to profit from this growth.
