Protean and NPCI Join Forces to Enhance ONDC's Payments & Settlements

Protean eGov Technologies(formerly NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure), has partnered with NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL) to enhance trust in payments and settlements on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). 

In collaboration with NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL), Protean launched its Recon & Settlement Product (RSP) on NBBL’s NOCS platform, serving as a Settlement Agency (SA). The RSP is a decentralised settlement framework that enables secure, transparent, and seamless fund settlements on the ONDC platform. The partnership aims to streamline payment settlements and eliminate manual intervention or supervision.

Early adopters of Protean’s RSP on ONDC include various network participants such as Addble, Bizom, Eksecond, Esamuday, GrowthFalcons, Jakkur Technoparks Private Limited, Kotak Bank App, MyStore, ndhgo, nStore, placeorder.com (Rapidor), Bech.app, OrderDe.com (SignCatch), Spice Money, Snapbizz, Uengage, Vanghee, and more. 

Protean’s RSP is designed to handle transaction volumes at population scale and offers features like automated rule-driven transaction reconciliation, integrated tax calculations, a comprehensive admin panel and dashboard, exception handling capability, and control reports for operational control and governance.

The launch of Protean’s RSP on NBBL’s NOCS platform would possibly empower network participants to focus on their core business activities while ensuring streamlined, accurate, and hassle-free payment settlements. 

This also enhances operational efficiency and strengthens trust in the ONDC network, which ONDC CTO, Nitin Mishra, revealed that they were vouching for, during an interview with AIM.

He explained that with the whole unbundling and interoperability, since there would be no direct contact with a central platform to negotiate between the buyers and sellers, building trust is a challenge. 

 “In a network mode where the interfaces are becoming, you know, very blurred in a sense that now the seller do not need to know where the product is coming from and buyer do not know where their products are coming from. In this sense, making people understand, and then building trust that this model actually works(is a challenge).” Mishra said.

Protean has been introducing innovative products and interventions on the ONDC network since its inception.

With over 28 years of experience, Protean has played a crucial role in various government initiatives, including the development of PAN cards, the Tax Information Network, the National Pension System, and Aadhaar enrollments. 

NBBL aims to redefine trust in payments and settlements on the ONDC by leveraging its technological expertise and the decentralised settlement framework.

Recently, Shiprocket, an e-commerce enablement platform, also announced the integration of its seller app with ONDC. Shiprocket aims to provide a seamless onboarding and post-support experience for sellers on ONDC, offering an additional low-cost demand channel. 

The integration aims to generate increased revenue for merchants by onboarding their MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) along with leading brands such as GIVA and Boult Audio onto the ONDC platform.