It’s been over 40 days since demonetization announcement, but the queues outside ATMs aren’t getting any shorter. If you ask me, I would rather skip a meal in a cash-only situation, than go queue at an ATM. So, basically if not for my parents who got me the cash right at home, I may have had starved to death in the past one month. For people like me, Snapdeal is sort of trying to play the role of a parent with the launch of a new service called, Cash@Home.
With this new service, Snapdeal will essentially allow users to order cash and have it delivered at their doorstep. The company calls the new service a “goodwill gesture” to allow users to easily access cash without having to queue up at their bank or at the ATMs. If you are wondering where the company plans to bring all the cash from, Snapdeal says it will be using the cash that it receives through Cash on Delivery (CoD) to operate this facility.
Now, the natural thought that would follow after you read about the service is the cover charge for the facility. Snapdeal says that it will charge a nominal amount of Re 1 as convenience fee, which will need to be paid through either the mobile wallet FreeCharge or through a debit card at the time of booking the order.
At the time of cash delivery, the consumers will need to swipe their ATM card on the PoS machines, which Snapdeal’s courier partners will carry for all such deliveries. Once transaction is successful, the courier person will hand over Rs 2,000 in cash. A user can request Rs 2,000 per booking and any bank’s ATM card can be used to pay for the cash.
Also, the service of ordering cash does not necessarily have to be accompanied by any other order from Snapdeal, and it’s a standalone service. Currently, the service has gone live in Gurgaon and Bangalore only. But Snapdeal says that it will be extended to other major cities in the coming days, with the operative details to be updated as per user feedback and availability of currency notes.
“At Snapdeal, we aim to be the marketplace that seamlessly services every customer need. As the country transitions to a more digitally enabled economy, we’ve launched a series of timely initiatives – from wallet and card on delivery, to extending FreeCharge partnerships to smoothen this transition. 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,” Rohit Bansal,Snapdeal co-founder said.
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