Paytm Mall Becomes The First App To Go Live On ONDC’s Soft Launch

SUMMARY

ONDC has today gone live for public users in Bengaluru. It has initiated beta testing for general masses across 16 pin codes of the city

With the soft launch, users will be allowed to place orders in two categories–groceries and restaurants via buyer-side apps

Paytm Mall said that the introduction of the ONDC network marks the beginning of decentralising the Indian ecommerce sector

Paytm E-commerce Pvt Ltd (PEPL), which is the parent entity of Paytm Mall, has gone live on the ONDC network’s beta testing launch in Bengaluru, Karnataka. With this, it became the first app to go live with the platform’s beta mode.

ONDC has today gone live for public users in Bengaluru. It has initiated beta testing for general masses across 16 pin codes of the city.

With this, Bengaluru-based users can now buy online products from various sellers that are listed on the ONDC network via the Paytm app.

According to the company, with the soft launch, users will be allowed to place orders in two categories–groceries and restaurants via buyer-side apps. Besides, users will also have access to an array of local businesses offering multiple products and services on ONDC.

“This is a major milestone in the democratization of e-commerce in India. We believe this is aligned with the company’s vision to create a long-term sustainable business in partnership with ONDC. This will enable the purchase and sale of goods in the Indian market, driving transparency and digital independence for small businesses in the country,” Paytm Mall spokesperson said.

Paytm Mall said that the introduction of the ONDC network marks the beginning of decentralising of the Indian ecommerce sector. Besides, the network will also offer inclusiveness and accessibility to consumers.

In May, Paytm Mall’s parent PEPL first shared its plans to list itself as a buyer-side app on the ONDC platform. Prior to this, Paytm Mall’s early investors–Alibaba and Ant Group exited the startup.

It is important to note that One97 Communications (OCL), which is the parent of listed fintech app Paytm, does not have a direct or indirect shareholding in PEPL. However, PEPL uses Paytm and receives services from OCL.

ONDC, which is managed by DPIIT, plans to reach close to 100 Indian cities, 30 Mn sellers and 10 Mn vendors by the end of this year. It listed over 100 sellers by the end of August. Its pilot project is presently live in 15 cities of India including Bengaluru, Lucknow, Delhi and Coimbatore, among others.

This month, Bank of India (BOI) infused INR 10 Cr in ONDC to increase its stake to 5.56% in the network. So far, about 20 companies have together invested INR 255 Cr in the Centre’s digital ecommerce project.