The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the open e-commerce protocol set up by the Commerce Ministry’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), will charge a “small fee” from the platform that will contribute to its “maintenance and development”. About the network, said T. Koshy, managing director and chief executive officer of the non-profit Network Protocol.
In an interview, Koshy said that ONDC could start charging platforms on the network in “maybe a year”. He did not disclose the quantum of the fee.
Koshy was speaking at the inauguration 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 private e-commerce enterprises, will seek to reduce mandatory commissions charged by private online retailers such as Amazon and Flipkart from sellers and logistics partners .
At its launch, Koshy said that ONDC currently has 26 partners on the network, and it hopes to onboard home-grown fintech firm, PhonePe, next week.
“125 more platforms will be added in the next two months. Following these, 200 more platforms are currently working on technical integration with ONDC, while 400 more platforms including buyer, seller and logistics partners are at the paperwork stage.”
While private e-commerce platforms control how sellers are onboarded, which logistics partners they employ to deliver their products, and how products are presented to buyers, ONDC claims that it is the e-commerce platform. There will be a “democratization” of how commerce works. Buyers, Sellers and Logistics Firms Together ONDC refers to platforms that cater to different categories of users.
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