With PM Narendra Modi’s landmark move of demonetising 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, digital wallet providers have already started deploying new services to bank upon the opportunity. Yesterday, e-commerce and food delivery startups in the country restricted users from using cash on delivery(CoD) payment option. However, the same companies are now coming up with new initiatives to make sure its still convenient for their customers to shop.
Today, Freecharge and its parent Snapdeal are debuting a first-of-its-kind Wallet on Delivery(WoD) service that will enable users to pay using their digital wallet on product delivery. Very much like the cash on delivery option, this add-on feature will also serve as an effective solution to address users concerns over hanlding the exact amount of cash for the product. The solution has started rolling out today but it will expand to all Snapdeal and Freecharge users across the country in the coming weeks.
Commenting on the launch of the new service, Kunal Bahl, CEO & Co-founder of Snapdeal, says,
The launch of Wallet on Delivery is an absolute need of the hour for consumers. More than a year ago, we had made a strategic decision to build India’s best digital payments platform to offer the fastest and most efficient payments experience in the country.
The launch of this new feature by FreeCharge shortly after the announcement of the demonetization of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 currency notes demonstrates our speed of execution in ensuring consumers’ needs are met in real time. We are delighted to continue our contribution to the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision to build a cashless society.
As mentioned earlier, cash on delivery is one of the more prominent payment options, accounting for 60 percent transactions, used in the country. This enables the customer to make sure that the product received by them is genuine and then pay for the same in cash. But, the Snapdeal’s new wallet-on-delivery service, not only supports the growing ecosystem of cashless transactions but also enables them to recover losses and gain consumer trust in the process. This will also enable them to build their brand around the motto of convenience, which is a priority for consumers in today’s internet age.
Ever since the announcement of the scrapping of the 500 and 1,000 rupee notes, digital wallet services have seen a significant jump in transactions and downloads. Paytm has issued a statement with initial rampant growth figures. It notes that the payment platform saw an overwhelming 435 percent increase in overall traffic, coupled with 200 percent hike in the number of app downloads and 250 percent surge in the number of overall transactions and transaction value.
