How demonetisation is helping e-payment growth

Bengaluru: The current cash crunch in the country due to demonetisation of high value currencies is triggering a significant growth in cashless payments and companies associated with such facility are coming out with innovative way of making payments. One such Company Razorpay, an online payments platform, today, unveiled eCOD, an innovative application to help eCommerce companies accept payments at the time of delivery using payment methods other than cash. The product is aimed to replace ‘Cash on Delivery’ and provide relief to online merchants impacted by the phasing out of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes, according to a statement here today.

The Government's move last week had led to a temporary loss in sales for several eCommerce companies. With eCOD, Razorpay offered its merchants the option of collecting payments from their customers, at the time of delivery, via non-cash payment modes like UPI or digital wallets like OlaMoney, Mobikwik, PayUmoney and Freecharge. Delivery person can also generate an instant payment link at the time of delivery that enables the customer to pay via credit/debit card or Netbanking. Razorpay had already partnered with Shadowfax, one of the largest logistics provider for local businesses and various online merchants like Licious and GoZefo to launch eCOD feature. ''In India, Cash-on-Delivery accounts for around 70 per cent of all online transactions. In the present situation, we understand the problems online businesses are facing.

Cash is difficult to come by and customers want to utilise their limited cash judiciously. In addition, not all online buyers in India are willing to pay first and receive the product. With eCOD, we have attempted to retain the essence of payment on delivery while giving consumers an array of payment modes to pay instead of cash'', said Harshil Mathur, CEO & Co-Founder of Razorpay. Upon choosing eCOD as a payment option while shopping online, customers will be able to pay at the time of delivery either by UPI, digital wallets or by requesting a payment link. The payment mechanism, will generate a PIN number without internet connectivity or wallet login, that the customer receives at the time of delivery, making the process as simple as paying cash. (UNI)