Amazon Pay and Kotak Launch a Small Business Credit Card: 5% Cashback Comes With a Catch

Most credit cards are built for a salaried person's grocery-and-Swiggy life, not for someone running a small business. They offer no business benefits for paying suppliers, restocking inventory, or buying a laptop for the shop.

On 9th September 2026, Amazon Pay and Kotak Mahindra Bank announced a card, during the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026, built specifically for that.

The Amazon Pay Kotak Business Credit Card is aimed at sole proprietors and small businesses that buy through Amazon Business.

Although applications aren't open yet, you can register interest through Amazon Business.

What's actually on offer

The catch: the 5% rewards cap

The cashback on Amazon Pay Kotak card is capped at 5% of your monthly credit limit. If you have a ₹40,000 limit, and you spend ₹40,000 in a month, this cap changes nothing for you. You get your usual 5% back, i.e., ₹2,000.

Its rewards cap hits you hard if you spend more than your monthly credit limit, clearing your dues mid-cycle.

Say, you put ₹80,000 through a ₹40,000 limit that way – spend, pay down, spend again – you still earn ₹2,000 (5% of ₹40,000 limit) in cashback.

The cap is fixed to your limit, not to what you actually spend.

There's a second, smaller catch worth flagging: the ₹499 fee on an Amazon-focused card is waived only if you spend ₹3 lakh a year away from Amazon.

Does the fee pay for itself?

It pretty much does.

Consider, for example, you're a Prime-member business spending ₹50,000 a month on inventory and supplies through Amazon Business. At 5%, that's ₹2,500 a month, or ₹30,000 a year, in cashback.

Now, say your credit limit is ₹40,000, and you clear the balance once mid-month to fit that ₹50,000 through. The 5% cap tops out at ₹2,000 a month, so your actual cashback lands closer to ₹24,000 a year.

Either way, that's comfortably ahead of the ₹499 (+GST) fee you'd pay if you don't hit the ₹3 lakh off-Amazon waiver. So, the card pays for itself several times over.

So, should you register interest?

Yes, if you're a sole proprietor or small business that already purchases through Amazon Business regularly. More so, if you’re a Prime member. The 48-day interest-free window and the no-cost EMI ease cash flow management.

The Amazon Kotak Business card also offers AWS credits for AI services, cloud computing and data storage. You can host a website or app, or back up business data at lower costs.

However, whenever applications open, before accepting the card, ask Kotak what credit limit you're actually getting on it.

If Amazon Business isn't where your money actually goes, you can skip this credit card. Because outside Amazon, you get just 1% cashback.

Disclaimer

This is our honest read of what Amazon Pay and Kotak Mahindra Bank have announced, not formal financial advice. Terms, fees and credit decisions can change once applications open – confirm the final terms with Kotak Mahindra Bank before you apply.