This article is more than 1 year old

Amazon Web Services set to support more Asia-Pacific currencies for customer bills

Australian users told first of plans to create 'Seller of Record' subject to regulatory approval

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is working to bill its products in a range of Asia-Pacific currencies as necessary, The Register has learned.

This story starts with an odd email sent to Australian AWS customers that opens: "We are working on a corporate reorganisation by which Amazon Web Services Australia Pty Ltd ('AWS Australia') is proposed to replace Amazon Web Services, Inc. ('AWS Inc.') and be appointed as a reseller of AWS cloud services for account(s) based in Australia."

Among the changes to flow from the arrangement outlined above include locally issued invoices, the inclusion of local taxes, and a move to paying for services in Australian Dollars by default for credit card customers.

The Register asked AWS about the letters and was sent the following statement:

We regularly review our business structure to ensure that we are able to best serve our customers. AWS plans to launch an Australian Seller of Record to support the growing adoption of cloud computing by enabling our customers in Australia to purchase AWS Cloud services from an Australia based company.

The Register understands that similar letters will soon be winging their way to AWS users across Asia-Pacific, as the cloud colossus wishes to expand the number of currencies in which it bills beyond the fifteen it currently supports. Six currencies in the region that are already supported are: the Australian Dollar, Chinese Yuan, Hong Kong Dollar, Japanese Yen, New Zealand Dollar, and Singapore Dollar.

AWS's APAC operations include functioning facilities in India and South Korea, and an Indonesian bit barn that is under construction. Adding the Korean Won, the Indian Rupee, and the Indonesian Rupiah would therefore be true to form for the cloud giant, and also welcome to customers in those nations as AWS displays its prices in US Dollars and bills using greenbacks until it supports the local currency.

The Australia letter seen by The Register states the changes are not a fait accompli because they must be approved by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board.

We understand this seeking of approval is not related to a desire to make the new entity tax efficient. Rather it reflects the need to properly constitute a "Seller of Record" – AWS's term for an in-country presence capable of issuing bills in local currency.

And AWS is not certain it will happen: the letter seen by The Register states, "We currently do not have a specific date for the launch but will send out further updates with more information when available." ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like