Amazon Plans SMB Credit Card

Amazon is reportedly planning to launch a credit card for its SMB customers in the US.

According to Bloomberg, the e-commerce giant is fielding bids from banks for a co-branded credit card for small business owners that shop on the site.

The move appears to be part of Amazon’s drive to grow its share of the office supplies market through its B2B platform Amazon Business.

In October, it introduced Business Prime Shipping in the US and Germany, offering free fast delivery in a bid to push adoption of the platform among SMBs and compete with large resellers such as Staples and Office Depot.

Credit is nothing new for Amazon, it already offers cards for consumers through its partnership with JPMorgan and Synchrony Financial and is currently in talks with Capital One about launching a checking account.

Last June, Amazon also revealed that it had lent almost $3 billion to more than 20,000 customers selling on the site in the US, UK and Japan.

But Bloomberg’s sources say that the new plans could also include a points-style reward scheme for Amazon’s B2B customers and may eventually lead to a business insurance offering. - (OPI)