New Delhi, May 21 (KNN) The State Bank of India (SBI) has entered into a pact with online marketplace Amazon to develop payment and commerce solutions for customers and small businesses.
 
SBI and Amazon.in will develop trusted and frictionless payments and commerce solutions for customers and small businesses, capitalizing on the exponential growth in internet penetration to drive the adoption of e-commerce and m-commerce in India, according to a statement.


The SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya on Wednesday said the bank was exploring ways to fulfil the aspirations of millions of customers.
 
“Our partnership with e-commerce platforms like Amazon would give a fillip to e-commerce in India and brings lots of value to our retail and SME customers,” the SBI chief added.
 
She said the bank was open to similar tie-ups with other e-commerce players. It might soon sign an agreement with Snapdeal in Kolkata. It is also ramping up card products and payments solutions towards this end.
 
“The bank is working on ways to enrich customers’ payment experience and opening up the window of e-commerce to our SME customers. E-commerce as a sector is at an inflection point and SBI stands with all stakeholders, including retail customers, SMEs clientele, and logistics companies, in facilitating this change,” she said.


SBI will also provide loans to SME customers while supply products, to Amazon to help them increase their operations. "Their products are very good but they are not able to scale up because they don’t have that kind of financing. We will look at financing them,” Bhattacharya said.


The bank might also look at selling its financial products on Amazon, she said, without giving details.


Bhattacharya said SBI has been investing in developing digital capabilities for a stronger information technology backbone, systems and products. SBI has a huge customer base but not many use an e-commerce platform. There is a need to develop product that will hook them for using electronic commerce. (KNN Bureau)