This online retailer is now selling cash!
An Indian online retailer is now selling the most sought after commodity in the country on its platform -- cash!
Snapdeal announced Thursday its "Cash@Home" service, through which people in select cities in India can order up to Rs 2,000 ($30) and have it delivered at their doorstep. The service, marketed as a goodwill gesture, is aimed at addressing the shortage of cash in the nation following the bold demonetization move last month.
India invalidated most of its cash (86 percent of circulation) on Nov. 8. In the aftermath, millions have been stranded with little choice but to spend much of their time outside banks and ATMs in dim hope of obtaining cash.
Snapdeal says residents in Gurgaon and Bangalore can order the cash and pay for it using either its mobile wallet app FreeCharge or by swiping their debit or credit cards that the delivery boy carries. It will look at the feedback and accordingly extend the service to more regions.
The company will only charge Re 1 (less than 2 cents) for the service. The cash will be provided via payments other customers make for cash-on-delivery orders. In India, you can order stuff online and pay for it in cash at the time of delivery.
The cash will be provided via payments other customers make for cash-on-delivery orders.
"The launch of the cash on demand service is intended to further help our consumers tide over any cash crunch that they might face in addressing their daily needs,” said Rohit Bansal, Co-founder, Snapdeal said in a press statement.
Following demonetization, ecommerce companies have been fumbling over different ways to keep their businesses afloat. While mobile wallet apps such as Paytm, MobiKwik and FreeCharge have introduced features to address India's large untapped market of people with feature phones or no connectivity, some have attempted to help Indians find cash.
Vodafone, India's second largest telecom operator by subscribers count, announced a new feature this month for its digital payments app M-Pesa that lets people walk to a store and obtain cash. Also earlier this month, Ola, India's largest ride-hailing service, partnered with Yes Bank to deliver cash to people.
