What you need to know
- You can now command Alexa to pay your utilities, broadband, mobile, and cable bills in India.
- India is the first market where Amazon has experimented with amalgamating Alexa and Amazon Pay for bill payments.
- You can use the functionality with any Alexa-enabled device, and not just Amazon's own smart home products.
When it comes to adding features to its digital assistant, India seems to be on Amazon's list. After adding native Hindi support to Alexa just last month, the company is now allowing Indian users to pay off their bills using Alexa, a first for any market (via TechCrunch). Presumably, you'll be able to do so in both English and Hindi.
The payments will be made from your Amazon Pay wallet. The digital payments platform has become increasingly popular in the country, and Amazon's not being shy about its success. The company claimed it saw a threefold increase in Amazon Pay usage for its six-days long 'Great Indian Festival' sales compared to the same period last year.
What services can you pay for with Alexa? Electricity, water, gas, mobile, internet, and TV bills are all supported. Once you're done, you can also quickly check your Amazon Pay balance with commands like, "Alexa, what's my balance?," or top-up your account with a simple, "Alexa, add Rs X to my Amazon Pay balance."
Alexa can finally speak Hindi
