Tech Gadget Central Latest Tech News and Reviews
Amazon India is testing dine-in payments after ending meal delivery last year. Amazon Pay is being tested for restaurant bill payments.
A restricted number of Bengaluru restaurants use the facility. Credit/debit cards, net banking, UPI, and Amazon Pay Later are accepted at Amazon Pay > Dining on the Amazon app. Amazon India already reduces bill payments at most listed restaurants.
The e-commerce group may test this in other cities. Amazon India declined comment.
Food delivery titans Zomato and Swiggy provide in-restaurant payments and discounts to attract customers. Zomato and ICICI launched a UPI solution for faster checkout and bill payment this month.
Last year, the National Restaurant Association of India, a hospitality consortium, advised its members to avoid meal delivery payment systems.
Amazon’s latest experiment aims to engage Indian customers. According to Sanford C. Bernstein, it has difficult to enter smaller Indian settlements. E-commerce giant claims 85% of its consumers are from tier 2/3 cities/towns.
Bernstein observed that the company is slipping behind Walmart-backed Flipkart due to stringent regulations. In Q1 2023, Amazon deleted India mentions for the first time since 2014.
Amazon joined India’s ecommerce ministry’s Open Network for Digital Commerce in limited capacity earlier this year to develop a “interoperable” seller network. ONCD wants shops to join a digital network without Amazon and Flipkart.
