Amazon Pay and Kotak Mahindra Bank Launch Co-Branded Credit Card for Indian MSMEs

Amazon Pay and Kotak Mahindra Bank have launched a co-branded credit card specifically for sole proprietors and small business owners in India. This move addresses a critical credit gap for the country's 94 million MSMEs, offering fintech professionals a glimpse into how digital procurement platforms are integrating financial services to capture the massive B2B spending market.

What was announced

The Amazon Pay Kotak Business Credit Card is a dedicated financial tool designed for the 70% of Amazon Business customers who operate as sole proprietors. The product aims to streamline procurement by combining cashback rewards with GST-compliant invoicing and flexible working capital. The application process is entirely digital, allowing eligible small business owners to receive credit decisions within minutes through the Amazon Business platform.

The card features a tiered reward structure tailored for business expenses. Prime members receive 5% cashback on eligible Amazon Business purchases, as well as flight and hotel bookings, while non-Prime members receive 3% cashback. These rewards are capped at 5% of the user’s monthly credit limit. Additionally, the card offers 2% cashback on bill payments and recharges made through Amazon Pay, and 1% on all other expenditures. Beyond simple rewards, the card provides an interest-free credit period of up to 48 days and a three-month No Cost EMI option for larger capital outlays.

To support the digital transformation of these enterprises, the card includes offers for Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits, covering AI services, cloud computing, and data storage. While there is no joining fee, the annual fee is set at ₹499 plus taxes, which is waived if the cardholder reaches ₹3 lakh in annual spending on off-Amazon purchases. This initiative targets a sector that contributes over 30% of India’s GDP but often lacks access to formal, structured credit products.

"Small businesses are the engine of the Indian economy. They supply the goods, create the jobs and keep commerce moving in every town and city, often with modest teams and remarkable resourcefulness. What stands out is how enterprising they are. That confidence deserves the right tools. This card will offer benefits around how these businesses actually operate, with an interest-free credit period that eases cash flow, No Cost EMI for larger purchases, and cashback on the spending they are already doing to grow. With Amazon Pay, we can bring this to businesses across India on a platform they already trust."

Frederick Dsouza, Head - Credit Cards, Kotak Mahindra Bank.

The companies involved

Kotak Mahindra Bank is a prominent player in the Indian private banking sector, known for its extensive footprint in SME lending and retail banking. The bank has established a significant presence in the Indian financial landscape, positioning itself as a key partner for digital-first initiatives. Amazon, the global e-commerce and technology giant, operates Amazon Business as a specialized digital procurement platform in India. This platform is designed to help businesses reduce procurement costs while maintaining compliance through a single digital experience.

Amazon Pay serves as the fintech arm of the company, focusing on making credit and digital payments accessible to both consumers and business owners. By leveraging Amazon’s vast reach across millions of Indian enterprises and Kotak’s underwriting expertise, the partnership seeks to bridge the gap between digital commerce and formal banking. The collaboration highlights a growing trend where technology platforms and traditional financial institutions merge their respective strengths—data-driven reach and regulatory expertise—to serve niche segments like the MSME market, which has historically been underserved by standard retail credit products.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed Amazon’s evolving strategy in the global payments and fintech space. We previously reported on significant shifts in their regional operations, such as when PayTabs Group Acquires Amazon Payment Services MENA in Major $100M+ Deal. This transaction highlighted Amazon's willingness to partner with local specialists to manage payment infrastructure in high-growth markets.

Furthermore, the integration of advanced technology into the shopping experience remains a core focus for the company. Our coverage of how AEON Launches Agentic Checkout and AI Card for Autonomous Shopping on Shopify and Amazon demonstrates the broader industry trend of embedding sophisticated financial tools directly into the e-commerce workflow. This latest launch with Kotak Mahindra Bank follows that trajectory by embedding business-specific credit directly into the procurement cycle.

What this means

This announcement signals a significant shift in the Indian credit market, moving beyond consumer-centric rewards toward high-utility B2B financial products. By integrating GST-compliant invoicing with a credit line, Amazon and Kotak are addressing the "paperwork burden" that often prevents small businesses from scaling. This move puts immense pressure on traditional lenders who lack the real-time transaction data that Amazon Business possesses. The inclusion of AWS credits for AI services is particularly telling; it suggests that the battle for the MSME market is no longer just about providing capital, but about providing the entire digital infrastructure required to run a modern business. The industry should watch whether this "ecosystem-lock" model becomes the standard for SME banking.