Amazon India switches to contactless, digital payments for essential goods

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 27, 2020

E-commerce platform Amazon India, which is currently only retailing essential goods such as food and personal care items, has now stopped accepting cash on delivery in favour of contactless payment.

 
In order to protect its delivery personnel, Amazon India has gone digital, it announced on its website. The business aims to reduce physical human contact as much as possible to prevent the spread of coronavirus during the ongoing 21-day lockdown.
 
“New ordering is available only on essential products through prepaid payment methods,” wrote the e-commerce major on its platform.

The move will also speed up delivery times. Rising online orders and some delivery personnel returning to their hometowns have created logistics delays. 
 
Other multi-brand e-commerce firms are also urging their customers to opt for digital payment options when they order online. The focus on digital payments could have an effect on how shoppers order online even after the pandemic subsides. 
 
As of Friday afternoon, India has 761 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with ten deaths and 71 recoveries. Maharashtra has the highest number of confirmed cases in the country.