Paytm, Flipkart temporarily disable cash-on-delivery option

E-commerce companies in India including biggies Flipkart, Paytm, Snapdeal and Amazon temporarily disabled cash-on-delivery option on Wednesday, following government announcement that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes are no longer legal tender.

Though Amazon and Paytm have disabled the option for all transaction values, Flipkart still allows cash-on-delivery for transactions below Rs 1,000 and Snapdeal below Rs 2,000. The companies are not accepting Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes for cash-on-delivery orders placed in before the government announcement.

"In order to enable customers to conserve  smaller denomination notes for daily essential use, we are restricting CoD on orders below Rs 1,000. Meanwhile, we urge our customers to opt for alternative payment modes such as card on delivery, internet banking, credit and debit cards, gift cards, and our easy and convenient PhonePe wallet. We are also working on a slew of measures to help customers easily transition from cash to digital payments," a Filpkart spokesperson said.

The move is temporary and the companies are planning to bring back the option shortly.

"We will shortly reintroduce cash payment on delivery and also provide an improved selection of payment methods - both online and at customers' doorsteps to offer a seamless experience," Amazon said.

Snapdeal has in addition given its users the choice to defer the delivery by a few days till new currency notes become easily available.

Meanwhile, the move has been a game changer for Paytm, which registered massive growth across India within hours of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the plan. The Paytm platform saw an overwhelming 435 per cent increase in overall traffic as millions of consumers across India have taken to using their Paytm Wallets to transact offline, the company informed.

"Within hours of the announcement, the company registered a 200 per cent hike in number of app downloads and 250 per cent surge in number of overall transactions and transaction value. The number of Saved Cards also grew by 30 per cent, pointing at a strong set of repeat customers the platform has now acquired. The company has noted 1,000 per cent growth in money added to the wallet and 400 per cent growth in transaction value of offline payments," Paytm said.

The Prime Minister's move, which is aimed at curbing the black money menace in the country, is expected to give a massive push to digital currency in the country.