ONDC to become next UPI: What it is, how it will benefit e-commerce entrepreneurs, customers

The UPI payment option has made services like money transfers and online payments simple and quick. The digital economy has been propelled by a pandemic, which has contributed to the Indian e-commerce sector's current hypergrowth. In order to avoid being infected during the pandemic, people were advised to conduct online transactions. Digital use increased along with the rise of online-only purchasing.

The Center began the pilot phase of ONDC in April in five cities: Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Shillong, and Coimbatore. The Open Network for Digital Commerce is planned to be active in 75 locations by August, months after running pilots in seven cities. The government has taken the initiative to provide an open platform for all dimensions of the exchange of services and goods across digital networks.

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Consumers' freedom of choice will increase as a result of the platform's potential for enabling them to find any seller, good, or service by utilising any ONDC-compatible platform or application. For instance, last week, ONDC and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) jointly hosted the Nabard-ONDC Grand Challenge to enable e-commerce in agriculture. The ONDC protocol was designed to support online sales in industries where the sellers aren't held by a single private entity. With the help of the ONDC network, anyone can build their own online store using the protocol.

On Tuesday, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed optimism that the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), one of India's most popular digital technologies, can replace UPI. Vaishnaw asserts that ONDC can support business owners engaged in e-commerce, B2B transactions, or direct consumer contact.

Vaishnaw pushed startup business owners to introduce the UPI (Unified Payments Interface), a mechanism that integrates different bank accounts into a single smartphone application, to the world in a "very big way" in his address.

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(With inputs from PTI)