Soon, ONDC Will Offer Insurance and Mutual Funds

Nitin Konde, Apoorva Bajj

Aug 26, 2024 — 2 min read

Soon, ONDC Will Offer Insurance and Mutual Funds

Next two months, the open-source aggregator platform known as the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) will be launching insurance and mutual fund products. They will also be partnering with MasterCard for credit card processing.

Customers with and without salaries will be able to get unsecured credit through ONDC's six-minute digital loans.

According to T Koshy, CEO of ONDC, "We have deployed a Marine app, one insurer and two more are coming." "Even with health insurance, we're in the game, but our partner isn't licensed. The vehicle insurance is expected to be finalised within the following month. Plus, MF is scheduled to launch next month. We aim to complete 100-200 transactions before anything else," he added further.

Although a debut date has not been announced, the aggregator platform is also planning to add credit card functionality to its existing range of services.

Loan in 6 Minutes

Accessible in as little as six minutes, ONDC's new digital and paperless loans were launched on Thursday. Three lenders and nine buyer apps (often called LSPs) are part of the new offering.

Zyapaar, Indipe, Paynearby, Easypay, Paisabazaar, Tata Digital, Invoicepe, Cliniq360, and Indipe are among the buyer applications. Karnataka Bank, Aditya Birla Finance, and DMI Finance are among the lenders.

Economic Survey 2024

Since its launch in 2022, the number of transactions on the ONDC has soared above 68 million, according to the Economic Survey 2024. The number of transactions increased by 12% month-on-month to 9.95 million as of June 2024. According to Koshy, 12 million transactions were processed by ONDC in July.

To further emphasise that the ONDC network democratises access for all merchants and "prevents market concentration," Koshy chimed in. He went on to say that the network ensures that every customer can receive the lowest price on any product or service.

According to Koshy, small businesses eventually go out of business because platforms favour big suppliers and customers. This phenomenon is known as the network effect.

About ONDC

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a Section 8 company, was established on the 31st of December 2021. It is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which is part of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of the Government of India. The objective of this initiative is to develop a facilitative model that revolutionises digital commerce and increase the penetration of retail eCommerce in India.

A step towards the democratisation of digital commerce, ONDC symbolises a shift away from a platform-centric model, in which a small number of eCommerce companies control the industry, and towards an open, interoperable platform in which buyers and sellers can connect regardless of the platforms they are using. It is intended to move eCommerce away from walled gardens, which are ecosystems that are closed, compartmentalised, and highly stratified, and towards an environment that is more accessible and encourages competition, inclusivity, and innovation for businesses.