PayUPaisa launches 'release on delivery' option to bring down CoD transactions

Gurgaon-based online payment solution firm PayU India Internet Pvt Ltd has launched a new payment mode called release on delivery (RoD). As the name suggests, the new payment option lets buyers release the payment to the merchant after they have received the product.

How it works?

While purchasing a product, buyers are redirected to the payments page that offers multiple payment options like credit card, debit card, net banking or cash-on-delivery (CoD). If a buyer clicks selects CoD, the RoD payment option is also offered to them. The RoD payment can be made via credit card, debit card or net banking, but the amount is not released to the merchant till the buyer receives the product and confirms the same. Note that if the buyer fails to send any confirmation for three days after the delivery of the product, the payment is automatically released to the merchant.

In an event where the buyer faces problem with the delivered product after the payment has been released, a dispute can be raised with PayUPaisa's dispute resolution team, which will then try to resolve it in an unbiased way (at least that is what the official statement claims). The dispute is either resolved in 12 working days, or PayUPaisa refunds the money to the buyer.

This is not the first time such a service is going live. eBay already follows such a process (via PaisaPay) wherein the payment is released to the merchant only after buyer gives a nod. Earlier this year, Snapdeal also launched a similar service called TrustPay, which guarantees full cash back if the company falters in its commitments to consumers. For instance, if the order is not dispatched within three business days after the promised shipping date, the company will return the money. Even Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has created its own third party payment system called Alipay.

Giving an example of the service, Nitin Gupta, co-founder and CEO, PayU shared that pet supplier e-tailer Dogspot.com went live with the service and without any promotion, seven percent of their CoD transactions converted to RoD. "Large merchants like Tradus, The Mobile Store etc. are eager to go live with this payment option. We expect that in 9-12 months time, 20 percent of all CoD transactions will become RoD transactions," he added.

Last month, the company launched 'All-in-One' payment settlement solution, which was aimed to reduce the payment settlement headaches of marketplaces and online aggregators in the country. The solution addresses the problems related to money settlement and enables marketplaces achieve higher efficiency by providing better control over fund disbursement mechanisms.

Started in 2011, PayU India is part of PayU Group, a South Africa-based multinational group of media and e-commerce platforms. PayU empowers buyers to pay and sellers to get paid online. It also allows any individual or a business to go online in a few minutes and start collecting online payments with the help of online documentation. The firm claims that it serves more than 5,000 merchants, including Goibibo, Snapdeal, Bookmyshow, Jabong, Ferns n Petals, Freecharge, Zomato, Tradus, Rechargeitnow, Micromax Mobiles, and Groupon India, among others.