Amazon.com Inc. is planning to offer a credit card to U.S. small-business customers, according to people with knowledge of the matter, furthering its push to supply companies with everything from reams of paper to factory parts.
The e-commerce giant has been in talks with banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. on a co-branded credit card for small-business owners who shop on its website, said the people, who asked not to be named as they were discussing private negotiations. An Amazon spokesman declined to comment.
Seattle-based Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, has been looking for a way to replicate in the workplace the success that's made it a go-to shopping destination for households. In October the company launched a Prime membership program offering fast free delivery for businesses, which was seen as a way to seize market share from factory-equipment providers such as WW Grainger Inc. and Fastenal Co. and office-supply stores like Staples Inc. and Office Depot Inc.
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