NEW DELHI: E-commerce firms like Snapdeal are now allowing customers to pay for orders using digital payment options instead of cash when the packages are delivered to them.
Until now, digital payment options could be used, for most purchases, only at the time of placing the order. After the government's decision to pull 500 and 1000 rupee notes from circulation, e-commerce companies are now accepting payments through cards and mobile wallets after the order is delivered.
The move is aimed at ensuring that companies do not lose customers who opt for cash on delivery (CoD).
Following the demonetisation order, the likes of Amazon and Paytm had to halt CoD services, while Flipkart and Snapdeal set limits of Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 on such orders.
According to industry estimates, CoD makes up about 70 percent of the total orders. Customers opt for CoD instead of pre-payment using credit/debit cards and mobile wallets for a variety of reasons.
Snapdeal, for example, has launched the Wallet on Delivery (WoD) feature that allows customers to pay on delivery by using their FreeCharge wallet.
“This will allow users to make the payment only when their package is delivered and simultaneously, remove the need to handle cash and find the exact change for pay for the delivery,” Snapdeal CEO and co-founder Kunal Bahl said.
Box8, an online food ordering platform with operations in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore, has introduced a similar 'Pay Online after delivery' feature.
Shivaji Bose, CTO at Box8, highlighted the efforts that went into ensuring that the feature could be made available to users at the earliest.
“The technology team at Box8 started working on this feature right after the government's announcement of making 500 and Rs 1,000 notes invalid. Our whole tech team stayed over, coded for 10 hours straight, tested it early morning, and we had it ready,” he said.
This flexibility is also expected to encourage more people to try transacting online, he added.
Digital payments platform MobiKwik – which has over 35 million users and a network of more than one lakh merchants – is also extending support.
Customers using Mobikwik m-wallets can pay for their orders on platforms like Myntra, Jabong, Big Basket, Grofers, ZopNow and others after they receive their orders.