Amazon Pay and Kotak launch a business credit card: 5% back on Amazon Business for Prime members, sole proprietors only
The Amazon Pay Kotak Business Credit Card pays 5% cashback on eligible Amazon Business purchases and flight and hotel bookings for Prime members (3% otherwise), 2% on Amazon Pay bills and 1% elsewhere. The annual fee waiver counts only off-Amazon spend, and the top tier is capped at 5% of your monthly credit limit.
In this article
Amazon Pay and Kotak Mahindra Bank have announced a co-branded card for small businesses: the Amazon Pay Kotak Business Credit Card. It is built around Amazon Business, and it is narrower than the headline suggests.
Who can get it
Amazon's own announcement describes the card as for sole proprietors registered on Amazon Business. If your business is a partnership, LLP or private limited company, nothing in either source says you qualify. Applications run through Amazon Business, which Amazon describes as a fully digital process with minimal documentation.
One point the two sources do not agree on: Amazon says eligible owners can apply through Amazon Business, while Live From A Lounge reported on 11 September that applications were not open yet and users could only register interest. If you do not see an apply option, that is probably why.
The earn structure
These figures come from Amazon's announcement and match Live From A Lounge line for line:
| Spend | Prime members | Non-Prime |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible Amazon Business purchases, plus eligible flight and hotel bookings | 5% cashback | 3% cashback |
| Bills and recharges through Amazon Pay | 2% | 2% |
| All other spends | 1% | 1% |
The top row is capped at 5% of the monthly credit limit. Neither source spells out whether that cap applies to the spend or to the cashback, so do not plan a large Amazon Business order around the 5% until you have read the card's terms.
Fees and the waiver trap
| Item | Stated terms |
|---|---|
| Joining fee | Nil |
| Annual fee | ₹499 plus taxes |
| Fee waiver | Eligible annual spends of ₹3 lakh on off-Amazon purchases |
The waiver is the part to read twice. The card is designed to pull your business buying onto Amazon, but spend on Amazon does not count toward the waiver. A business that moves all its purchasing to Amazon Business will earn the best cashback rate and still pay the fee.
Other stated features: up to 48 days interest-free credit and three-month No Cost EMI on eligible purchases. Amazon also points to up to 18% GST benefits on eligible Amazon Business transactions, which come from Amazon Business invoicing rather than from the card itself. Neither source names the card network.
Who it suits
- Suits: a sole proprietor who already buys inventory or office supplies on Amazon Business, is a Prime member, and puts at least ₹3 lakh a year of other business spend on the card.
- Skip it if: your business is not a sole proprietorship, most of your spend is off Amazon (1% is ordinary), or you would not clear the off-Amazon waiver.
Want to see how a 5% merchant card stacks against a general cashback card for your own spend mix? Build the comparison in CardPolo's Polo Match, or ask Polo Brain which card to use for a specific purchase.
Sources
Every claim on this page is backed by a primary or reputable source.
Card figures on CardPolo come from our catalog, each with an issuer source and a verified date where we have checked it. Spot something out of date? Tell us at hello@cardpolo.com.
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