India, Mexico get early taste of the 'Bank of Amazon' with payment services

The finance industry is fixated on the idea of Amazon and other technology companies wading into their territory

As Wall Street worries about someday going up against the “Bank of Amazon,” recent moves by the online shopping Goliath indicate it’s already going in that direction overseas.

In places like India and Mexico, Amazon.com Inc. is offering unique payments services and actively approaching finance-technology startups for investments and acquisitions, according to a research report by CB Insights set to publish Thursday. In India, Amazon has a doorstep cash-pickup service that lets customers load money into a digital wallet. It has also acquired or invested in several startups there, including Emvantage Payments and BankBazaar. In Mexico, Amazon has a cash