PhonePe joins ONDC with new hyperlocal delivery app, Pincode

Homegrown fintech platform, PhonePe, announced the launch of a new hyperlocal e-commerce platform, Pincode, on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) protocol. The service will initially be available only for users in Bengaluru, as part of a trial phase for the grocery delivery service.

In a statement, PhonePe said that Pincode will target local grocery stores and merchants, and include promotional discounts and instant refunds through local grocery stores. The company also added that the service will be expanded to other cities ‘very soon’, without offering a timeline for this expansion.

Sameer Nigam, chief executive of PhonePe, said that the platform will help digitise merchants and create new growth opportunities in the hyperlocal grocery delivery space. Categories of products on the platform will include groceries, apparel, footwear, accessories and more.

ONDC is an open protocol being developed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce, and aims to offer an open protocol that buyers, sellers and logistics operators can all tap into. The initial phase of the protocol has been rolled out in Bengaluru, with trials expected to be extended to other cities soon.

In December last year, T Koshy, chief executive of ONDC, told Mint that while the protocol remains free at the moment, it could charge a ‘small fee’ to its users in the long run — once it is officially available across the country. While the quantum of this fee was not specified, ONDC could seemingly start charging this fee in about one year’s time, Koshy said.

Prior to PhonePe, global tech companies such as Microsoft and Amazon have already joined the ONDC network. Homegrown e-commerce firms such as Paytm and Meesho have also joined the platform already, while the likes of Flipkart are tipped to join the protocol soon. ONDC is presently conducting alpha-stage trials across multiple cities, and a formal commercial launch could take place in the next one year.