Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the open e-commerce protocol set up by the commerce ministry’s Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), will charge a “small fee” from platforms that will contribute towards “maintenance and development” of the network, said T. Koshy, managing director and chief executive of the non-profit network protocol.
In an interview, Koshy said ONDC may begin charging the fee from platforms on the network in “perhaps one year”. He didn’t disclose the quantum of fee.
Koshy was speaking on the sidelines of the opening of ONDC’s first office and headquarters in Delhi. The network, which seeks to make online commerce accessible to buyers, sellers and logistics operators outside of private e-commerce ventures, will seek to reduce the compulsory commissions charged from sellers and logistics partners by private online retailers such as Amazon and Flipkart.
At its inauguration, Koshy said ONDC presently has 26 partners on the network, and it expects to onboard homegrown fintech firm, PhonePe, next week.
“A further 125 platforms will be coming on board in the next two months. After these, 200 more platforms are presently working on technical integration with ONDC, while 400 more platforms including buyer, seller, and logistics partners are at a paperwork stage,” he said.
While private e-commerce platforms control how sellers are onboarded, which logistics partners work to deliver their products, and how products are presented to buyers, ONDC claims that it will “democratize” how e-commerce works. Buyers, sellers, and logistics firms with ONDC refer to platforms that cater to various categories of users.
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