ONDC Plans to Venture Into Financial Services With Credit & Insurance Offerings

Synopsis of the News-

• Approximately 80% of consumers prefer shopping on online marketplaces, with UPI emerging as the favored choice for prepayment, followed by credit card payments, as indicated by the report.
• The ONDC’s objective is to achieve a daily processing capacity of one lakh non-mobility orders and an equivalent number of mobility transactions by the end of this year.
• ONDC has recently launched auto-rickshaw reservations in Bengaluru through the Namma Yatri app.

T Koshy, the Chief Executive Officer of the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), announced in New Delhi on Friday that the network intends to launch financial services such as credit and insurance products to customers within the coming months. 

“In the upcoming months, our focus will extend to encompass financial products such as credit, insurance, mutual funds, and other cataloguable offerings. Additionally, we aim to showcase our inaugural export by September,” Koshy stated during an event hosted by logistics provider Shiprocket.

The open commerce platform, established under the aegis of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, recently incorporated a significant multi-brand smartphone distributor, Sangeetha Mobile, into its roster of sellers—Sangeetha Mobile’s decision to join ONDC dates back to May. In the realm of mobility services, ONDC facilitates auto-rickshaw reservations in Bengaluru through the Namma Yatri app.

Koshy underscored ONDC’s primary mission of reshaping the landscape of Indian e-commerce, firmly believing in the pivotal role that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will play in shaping the trajectory of the Indian economy. He emphasized the importance of comprehending consumer psychology and thought processes to enable businesses to make more informed decisions for the future.

The surge in Consumer Expenditure 

A report on e-commerce trends highlighted that consumer expenditure in India is poised to surpass $4 trillion, displaying a compounded annual growth rate of 10%. This growth is propelled by significant domestic consumer spending. The report envisions a twofold increase in spending on categories such as food, housing, apparel, personal care, transportation, and communication by 2030. Approximately 80% of consumers prefer shopping on online marketplaces, with UPI emerging as the favored choice for prepayment, followed by credit card payments, as indicated by the report.