Zomato and Swiggy have turned out to be the day-to-day household names. Friends coming over? Order food. Not in a mood to cook? Order food. Any kind of celebration? Order food. So, ordering food through Zomato or Swiggy at this point has become the new normal. But, have you heard of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the new kid on the block?
ONDC first existed as a beta around September 2022, but not many people were aware of it until now. So, most of us feel that the taxes and all other possible charges are massive when you order food over Zomato or Swiggy. Hence, ONDC has entered the picture.
Also Read: What is ONDC, Indian e-commerce’s UPI moment
To provide people with a cheaper option to get food delivered at their doorstep from their favourite food joints, the Indian Government has backed the ONDC platform. So, ONDC allows the restaurant or food joint to directly deal with their customers without taking any help from the middle men.
Also, something to be noted is that it isn't yet available in all cities at the moment neither are all the restaurants currently on ONDC. So, let's have a look at where ONDC is available and how to use it.
The ONDC first began in September' 22 in Bengaluru. That doesn't mean it's only available in Bengaluru. You need to go to the Paytm app and access the ONDC network in your city. Then it will only show you available restaurants, if the ones in your city have gone live.
Go to Paytm and type ONDC on the search bar. Apart from this, you can also scroll down to the bottom of the home screen. Under ONDC you will get a lot of options, for ordering food click on ONDC food. Then you'll find the list of restaurants you can order from just like Zomato or Swiggy and can order wherever you want to have right there.
Once ONDC is all up and rolling, it would turn out to be a great alternative to Swiggy and Zomato, and not to forget a cheap one as well.