Amazon has acquired Indian online payments processor 
for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition further helps Amazon accelerate its payments offering in India.
The Emvantage series includes a payment gateway, mobile payment solutions and a prepaid wallet. As part of the deal, Emvantage employees will join Amazon’s India-based payments team.
While Amazon has found a way to connect with the American audience, as evidenced by the more than 50 million subscribers to Amazon Prime, India’s nearly 1.3 billion people represent an excellent opportunity for the e-Commerce giant to make an impact overseas.
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The company is heavily banking on the Indian economy to power its business, predicting that India will be the world’s biggest e-Commerce market, after the U.S., within a decade, according to Fortune. Diego Piacentini, Amazon’s SVP for International Retail, even commented that the “size of opportunity is so large it will be measured in trillions of dollars.”
The entrance to India won’t come without roadblocks; barely 60% of Indians have bank accounts, with approximately half paying cash only for online purchases. Amazon’s challenge here will be finding a way to translate its business model to a socioeconomic culture that is coming along to e-Commerce at a slow pace.
Subject to customary closing conditions, the Emvantage acquisition is expected to close in Q1 2016.
