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IDFC FIRST Bank has announced that it will be joining the buyer-side and seller-side interface of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) backed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. With this, IDFC FIRST will be able to showcase ecommerce sellers on the ONDC network to its retail customers. 

Further, the bank has also started onboarding small merchants who are a part of its current account customers on the ONDC’s seller-side app to expand their digital footprint. 

“As a technology-first bank and an early adopter of digital initiatives, we are pleased to be part of a techno-social innovation that will trigger a dramatic shift in the way buyers and sellers interact online,” said B Madhivanan, Chief Operating Officer at IDFC FIRST Bank, in a statement issued by the company. 

He added, “By leveraging ONDC, we can enable merchants to mobilise the network effect and unlock value at scale. ONDC is a fully digitally-driven model and aligns with the Bank’s digital and social-good ethos.”

Currently in pilot-mode across 60 cities, ONDC aims to democratise ecommerce by moving from a platform centric model practiced by private players to an open network model, which will be interoperable across buyers and sellers from multiple platforms as well as service providers. The current partner ecosystem at ONDC includes players such as Paytm Mall and PhonePe on the buyer side, Zoho, Snapdeal and others on the seller side as well as logistics providers like LoadShare, Dunzo and Grab. ONDC was launched on December 31, 2021. 

“IDFC FIRST Bank joining the network is poised to expand the network on both sides – buyers and sellers. This is a great development and we look forward to IDFC FIRST Bank offering more options on the network on both sides,” said Shireesh Joshi, Chief Business Officer at ONDC.

IDFC FIRST is the first banking app to register with ONDC on its buy and sell-side app. Other banks including Kotak Mahindra, HDFC, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, and Axis Bank continue to be stakeholders in ONDC.