Amazon, Flipkart Move to Rival Banks with New Loan Push
GeokHub
Contributing Writer
MUMBAI, Nov 28 GeokHub — Two of India’s biggest e-commerce companies are preparing to challenge traditional banking institutions directly by rolling out consumer and small-business lending services.
In a bold shift from pure e-commerce to financial services, Amazon — leveraging its recent acquisition of Bengaluru-based non-bank lender Axio — is relaunching small-business loan and cash-management services aimed at merchants and SMEs. Meanwhile, Flipkart has registered a new lending unit, Flipkart Finance, and is waiting for regulatory clearance to offer buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and consumer-durables financing. Under its proposed plan, customers could access interest-bearing loans or zero-cost installment plans for consumer goods.
This move comes as India’s unsecured consumer loan market has more than doubled in size over the past five years, underscoring a rapidly growing demand for flexible credit. With their massive customer bases, digital-payments infrastructure, and mountains of user data, Amazon and Flipkart are uniquely positioned to capitalize on this trend. Analysts view the shift as a clear sign that large e-commerce players are evolving into full-fledged fintech competitors — potentially reshaping access to credit across urban and rural India.
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If successful, merchants and consumers may benefit from faster, simpler loan access and payment flexibility. But traditional banks, especially those focused on unsecured loans and consumer financing, may face growing pressure on their market share. The greater question now is how regulators, regulators and incumbent banks respond — whether by adapting, competing, or innovating — as the lines between e-commerce, payments and banking blur.
