Vidita Chandra | 8 May 2023 01:08 PM
Looks like the duopoly of Swiggy and Zomato are about to come to an end as the government-backed new entrant is stirring up the country's food ordering scene. ONDC has become the third option to bring you scrumptious meals and (drumrolls) at significantly lower prices. Reports suggest that ONDC is giving Swiggy and Zomato a run for their money by only charging a measly 2-4% commission to restaurants instead of the hefty 25-30% cuts charged by ‘S&Z’. This in turn is helping restaurants to offer better prices to their customers. And as if that wasn't already appetizing enough, they're also offering early adopters sweet discounts.
ONDC stands for Open Network for Digital Commerce. It's a decentralized network that allows for easy and secure peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries like banks and payment processors. Launched in September last year, ONDC was established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of Government of India to develop open e-commerce. So, how can it be of use to you? Well, imagine being able to buy and sell goods and services without having to go through a third party that takes a cut of your hard-earned money. Sounds pretty neat, right?
You can order food using ONDC's partner apps like Paytm or PhonePe’s Pincode. The latter has launched a new consumer-facing application called Pincode, which will be integrated into the ONDC framework while Paytm has also announced that it will pivot to ONDC as its primary focus. As of now, after beta testing in Bengaluru across 16 pin codes, the ONDC platform has gone live in Bengaluru as well as Delhi where you can order food and groceries.
Don't worry if you're not in these cities, because ONDC has big plans to expand to even more cities soon. So get ready to chow down because ONDC's got your cravings covered!