You may have seen "ONDC" pop up in the news, or perhaps a friend mentioned it when ordering groceries. But what exactly is it — and why should you care?
This guide explains ONDC in plain English: what the government built, why it matters for ordinary shoppers and small businesses, and what you can realistically do on it today.
First, a quick analogy: the UPI moment for shopping
Think back to before UPI. Paying someone digitally meant both of you had to be on the same bank's app. Then UPI arrived, and suddenly a PhonePe user could pay a Paytm user — because they were both on one shared network. The app you used stopped mattering.
ONDC is trying to do the same thing for commerce. Instead of being forced to buy from Amazon or order food only on Zomato, you should be able to open any compatible app and tap into the same pool of sellers, restaurants, hotels, and service providers.
That is the core idea: one open network, many apps.
What is ONDC exactly?
ONDC stands for Open Network for Digital Commerce. It is an initiative backed by the Government of India and was incorporated in late 2021 as a Section 8 (non-profit) company under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The network works on open protocols — published, standardised rules that any technology company can build on. Sellers, logistics providers, and buyers each connect through participants called "network participants." No single company owns the network or controls who can join.
The practical result: a kirana in Jaipur can list its products on ONDC and be discovered by a customer using an app based in Bengaluru — without either party paying a commission to a middleman platform.
How is this different from Swiggy, Amazon, or Ola?
Today's big apps are what technologists call "walled gardens." The restaurant on Swiggy can only reach Swiggy's customers. The seller on Amazon India can only be found by Amazon shoppers. Each platform builds its own buyer base, its own logistics, its own seller universe — and charges significant commissions (often 20–30%) for that access.
ONDC is an open network, not a platform. Think of it like email: Gmail users can email Yahoo users because both use the same protocol. ONDC is that protocol for buying and selling.
| Big Platforms (Zomato, Amazon…) | ONDC | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns it? | Private company | Non-profit, Govt-backed |
| Seller reach | Only that platform's buyers | Any ONDC-compatible app |
| Commission model | High (15–30%) | Negotiated, typically lower |
| Your data | Owned by the platform | Stays with the participant you chose |
What can you actually do on ONDC right now?
ONDC has expanded well beyond its early days of grocery delivery. Here is what is live for consumers in 2026:
1. Order food and groceries
This was ONDC's first big category and is the most mature. You can order from local restaurants and kirana stores through multiple buyer apps. Prices are often lower because sellers do not have to build in platform commissions.
2. Shop for everyday products
Electronics, fashion, home goods, personal care — a large range of retail categories are available through sellers who have listed on the network. Many of these are small and mid-size Indian brands that found big-platform fees prohibitive.
3. Book hotels and homestays
Accommodation booking is live on ONDC. Independent hotels and homestay operators can list directly, and travellers can compare and book without going through a large OTA that takes a steep cut.
4. Book cabs and metro travel
Intercity and intracity cab services, as well as metro ticketing in some cities, are accessible through ONDC-compatible travel apps. The goal is to give commuters more options beyond the two or three dominant ride-hailing apps.
5. Find personal loans and financial products
This is perhaps the most underappreciated part of ONDC. A section of the network is dedicated to financial services — personal loans, gold loans, and insurance products. Lenders and NBFCs can list their offerings, and borrowers can compare terms without going to each lender's app individually.
6. Book experiences and entry passes
ONDC's travel layer includes experiences: attraction tickets, venue entry passes, and activity bookings. For operators running heritage sites, amusement parks, or adventure experiences, this is a way to reach customers digitally without building their own app.
What about small businesses?
ONDC is particularly interesting for sellers. If you run a local restaurant, a boutique clothing store, or a home-services business, you can onboard onto the ONDC network through a seller app (there are several to choose from). Once you are on the network, buyers across all compatible apps can find you — not just users of the one platform you signed up with.
Commission structures are negotiated between you and your chosen seller-side participant, and the network rules are transparent. This is a meaningful shift from the take-it-or-leave-it terms of large platforms.
How do you access ONDC?
You do not download "the ONDC app" — the network does not have one. Instead, you use any app that has integrated with ONDC as a buyer-side participant.
Several apps have built ONDC integrations: banking super-apps, standalone buyer apps, and conversational interfaces. The experience and available categories vary by app.
One option worth knowing about: Bino lets you access several ONDC categories — retail shopping, travel, food — through WhatsApp. If you prefer chatting over navigating an app, you can message Bino on WhatsApp and ask for what you need: find a hotel, search for a product, check loan options. Bino acts as a conversational layer sitting on top of the ONDC network, so you get the open-network benefits without leaving your chat.
You can explore what Bino can do at bino.bot.
What is still a work in progress?
Honesty matters here. ONDC is real and growing, but it is not finished.
- Seller depth varies by city. Metro cities have more sellers than smaller towns. This will improve as onboarding scales.
- Not every category is equally mature. Food and grocery are the most polished experiences. Financial services and travel are growing but still building out depth.
- Buyer app quality differs. Because multiple apps connect to the network, the user experience depends on which app you are using. Some are slicker than others.
- Logistics coverage is expanding. Deliveries to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are improving, but the last-mile network is not yet as complete as the large platforms.
These are growing pains, not structural problems. The underlying network is designed to scale.
Should you try it?
If you are a consumer, yes — especially for food, groceries, and local retail, where the price difference compared to big platforms can be noticeable. For travel and financial products, it is worth checking what is available in your region.
If you are a small business, ONDC is worth a serious look. The early platform fatigue that many sellers feel — high commissions, opaque ranking algorithms, zero portability of your customer relationships — is exactly what ONDC is designed to address.
India built UPI and showed the world what open financial infrastructure looks like. ONDC is the same bet applied to commerce. It is early, but the direction is clear.
Bino is a WhatsApp-based assistant that connects to the ONDC network for shopping, travel, and more. Try it at bino.bot.
Originally published on the Bino blog.
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