Paytm enters ride-hailing sector through ONDC to challenge duopoly of Ola-Uber: Report

Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led fintech giant Paytm is reportedly stepping into the ride-hailing sector by offering auto-rickshaw rides in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai through the Indian government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

While the company has not made an announcement regarding this new offering, Paytm's entry into the ride-hailing sector could disrupt Ola and Uber's market dominance.

Integrating with Namma Yatri

According to a Moneycontrol report, which first reported the development, the booking feature is still in testing mode and visible to select users.

When booking an auto-rickshaw through Paytm, the feature shows as 'Powered by Namma Yatri,' a seller-side app in the transaction.

Namma Yatri, which is backed by fintech firm Juspay, has facilitated over 373 million rides in seven cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi, and Kolkata, primarily focusing on auto-rickshaw services.

The platform operates on a subscription model for drivers and is currently expanding into cab bookings across cities.

ONDC's growing reach

ONDC, an open technology network based on an open protocol, enables local commerce across various segments such as mobility, grocery, and travel. 

The platform allows seamless transactions between buyers and sellers across different network-enabled applications.

It's worth mentioning that Paytm has gradually expanded its presence on ONDC, launching services in various e-commerce sectors, including food delivery, grocery, fashion, and electronics.

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma earlier said that Paytm aims to onboard 10 million merchants onto ONDC by 2025, stating that 11.8 million users have already shopped on ONDC through Paytm.

While Paytm's previous e-commerce venture Paytm Mall faced challenges, the ONDC initiative has revived interest among tech companies in India.

Multiple unicorn startups, including Ola, PhonePe, Meesho, and Shiprocket, are placing their bets on the government-backed network to challenge the dominance of Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, and Swiggy.