Amazon India has received permission to run a wallet license in India, becoming one of the 84 companies authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to operate payment licenses. The license has been given to "Amazon Online Distribution Services Private Limited". The license was issued to Amazon on the 22nd of March 2017, and is valid till the 31st of March 2022. The wallet will probably be linked to Amazon Pay, which Amazon introduced in India last December, although then it was seen as a rebranding of its gift cards business. Why Amazon needs a wallet in India Remember that India has a 2 factor authentication system, which means that after adding the card details and the CVV, users either have to authenticate a transaction using a one-time-password sent to their registered mobile phones, or authenticate via a separate password on a bank payment gateway. This adds time and errors to the payments process, because of which ecommerce platform may lose customers. A wallet addresses this issue: users can store money in a wallet via a single transaction (which will require the 2nd factor of authentication), and then purchase products without a need for further authentication. A one-click payment option doesn't work in India, without a wallet. Amazon also offers customers faster refunds with Amazon Pay, within 24 hours. Storing money in the wallet will help Amazon ensure that the money is spend on Amazon directly, and also allows it to offer cashbacks on purchases, to wallets. This strategy was used by…
