Amazon is buying Indian lending startup axio for an undisclosed sum, the fintech firm said in a blog post on Thursday.
TechCrunch and MoneyControl are pegging the deal size between $150 million and $200 million, citing sources.
Axio, formerly known as Capital Float, was founded in 2013 and offers credit to consumers and small businesses with limited credit history.
Axio declined to comment on the financial terms. An Amazon spokesperson says that axio has filed an application with the central bank for a change in control to Amazon and is awaiting approval. Â
Once the approval is received, Amazon’s proposed acquisition of axio will be completed, they added.
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The company, which also operates a non-banking financial services arm, CapFloat, claims to have about 10 million customers to date and assets worth $250 million.
Alternative lending in India
Alternative lending has emerged as a key sector for startups in India, where consumers still face hurdles securing loans from banks.
Amazon first invested in axio in 2018. It uses it to provide working capital loans to merchants and buy-now-pay-later services to customers on the Amazon India site.
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To date, the startup has raised $232 million from investors including Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners and Ribbit Capital, according to intelligence platform Tracxn.
The move comes as the latest push by Amazon to grow its financial services business, which includes Amazon Pay.
In recent years, rival Flipkart has expanded in the area through a separate payments and credit app, Super.Money. Meanwhile fintech players like Paytm and PhonePe are pushing deeper into business loans.
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