PhonePe Launches Pincode App for E-Commerce under ONDC Framework

• ByStartupStory     |    April 4, 2023

Three months after Flipkart completed the full ownership separation of the payments startup, PhonePe has introduced Pincode, a new consumer-facing application that will be a part of India’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) framework as the Walmart-backed fintech decacorn looks to strengthen its e-commerce forays.

At its introduction in Bangalore, Sameer Nigam, co-founder and CEO of PhonePe, stated that Pincode, a buyer app, will concentrate on hyperlocal commerce and is accessible on both Google Play and the App store. The six key categories in which Pincode will debut are: groceries, food, pharmaceuticals, electronics, home furnishings, and fashion. According to Nigam, Pincode would spread city by city beginning with Bengaluru. The business, however, intends to restrict its growth to no more than 10 cities in the first year.

Consumers can browse stores by category and add several items to their carts at once, with one active cart per store. Moreover, customers can save numerous carts.

By December, according to Nigam, they hope to have one lakh orders placed daily using the app.

For ONDC, PhonePe is the first time a player has a specialised app. The Ministry of Commerce’s Directorate of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is responsible for ONDC.

The ONDC implementation began in Bengaluru in September with a small number of pincodes. Other from Paytm, buyer-side applications currently include IDFC, Mystore, Craftsvilla, and Spice Money.

Together with food, grocery, and e-commerce, ONDC moved into mobility in March when Namma Yatri joined the network. 181 cities are in the alpha stage of ONDC, whereas only two are in the beta level.

Currently, PhonePe competes with Paytm in the e-commerce market with its “Switch” platform, which offers a number of services including hotel and travel booking, food and grocery delivery, online pharmacy, metro booking, and other critical services. A move into ONDC would pit PhonePe against Paytm, which already has an ONDC platform built into its app, directly.

PhonePe, India’s most valued fintech company, has announced the launch of a consumer-facing e-commerce app that will offer an array of products and services. The move comes after the company raised $1bn from investors, making it India’s most valued fintech start-up with a valuation of $12bn. The funds will be used to invest in infrastructure and new businesses such as insurance, wealth management and lending. PhonePe has over 400 million registered users and dominates in Unified Payments Interface transactions. Its newer initiatives, such as lending and strengthening e-commerce, may drive revenue growth in the coming quarters.

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