Subscribe

Amazon hones in on SA

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 14 Jan 2015
Amazon is expected to bolster its local team considerably this month. (Photograph by Reuters)
Amazon is expected to bolster its local team considerably this month. (Photograph by Reuters)

Online juggernaut Amazon is expanding its presence in SA and is apparently looking to hire a team of around 150 individuals, who will be based in Cape Town, to run its Transaction Risk Management Systems (TRMS) operation on local shores.

This is according to an insider, who says the bolstering of Amazon's South African contingent constitutes a "massive new programme" for the US-based e-commerce giant.

While further details are not yet clear, Amazon has started a recruitment campaign inviting "dedicated, hardworking, analytical candidates with a proven track record of performance and results-oriented thinking" to apply for a position at its new Cape-based transaction risk management team.

A post on the company's TRMS portal reads: "The Amazon teams have exciting Investigation Specialist roles open in Cape Town, South Africa and are ready to interview!" (sic)

According to Amazon, the TRMS team is responsible for preventing fraudulent purchases across every Amazon product line. "TRMS designs and builds high performance software systems using machine learning that identify and prevent fraudulent transactions."

Amazon currently has a presence in Cape Town, where it runs a software development centre and customer service centre. The company's local office is based at one of the city's popular tourist attractions, bespoke shopping and dining centre Wembley Square.

Great growth

Amazon has grown considerably since it was founded by Jeff Bezos in the mid-nineties. According to online statistics company Statista, the online bookstore turned online shopping behemoth is the leading e-retailer in the US, with most of its revenue generated through the sale of electronics and other products, followed by media and other activities.

In 2013, the company raked in more than $74.45 billion in net sales, and in May last year, Bezos reportedly boasted 244 million active users.

In late December, Amazon said it drew more than 10 million new members to its Prime service - a $99-a-year prime membership that gives free two-day shipping and streaming of select movies and songs - over the holidays.

The company also said nearly 60% of its customers shopped via a mobile device this holiday, and total holiday sales through its smartphone app doubled in 2014.

Amazon's Seattle-based PR team had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication. Further details will follow as they become available.

* For more background on Amazon's Cape-based development centre, click here.

Share