Amazon, Flipkart Launch Consumer Loans, Challenging Indian Banks

What if your shopping app was also your bank? E-commerce titans Amazon and Flipkart are aggressively moving into India's massive consumer loan market. Amazon, through its acquisition of lender Axio, is targeting small business merchants with tailored credit to improve their cash flow. Meanwhile, Walmart-owned Flipkart is rolling out buy-now, pay-later schemes for shoppers, charging interest rates of 18-26% on consumer goods and directly challenging traditional banks in a market that has nearly tripled to $212 billion. This signals a major disruption in Indian finance, as tech giants leverage vast customer data to compete directly with established financial institutions. Soon, you could get an instant loan for a new smartphone on Flipkart or secure working capital for your small business directly through your Amazon seller account.