Snapdeal proposes to advance COD payments of sellers by 3 days but there's a catch

Snapdeal has proposed to let its sellers collect their cash-on-delivery payment three days before due date with an additional charge 0.5% of that amount as nominal fee. The online marketplace is conducting a dip stick study to gauge sellers' interest in this kind of an optional facility to ease their cash flow situation.

"We are committed to helping you grow your business on our platform. Capital Assist is planning to launch 'Early Payment Option' to help you avail your payment amount before it is due," said the Gurgaon-based online marketplace to its sellers late on Thursday night.

Capital Assist is Snapdeal's seller financing platform which provides them access to funding to meet their working capital needs. It was launched in August last year and competes with Flipkart and Amazon's seller financing programmes. "Salient features of the proposal are — get your payment amount three days before it is due, instant payment in your bank account and a nominal charge of 0.5% for your payment amount," the mail added.

"We continuously engage with sellers to help them become more successful. We received feedback that some sellers would like an option to access receivables in an accelerated manner. To take a broader view, Capital Assist is conducting a survey among select select sellers on Snapdeal to assess their requirements. It is a standard practice to seek seller feedback on any new service or policy we plan to introduce," said a Snapdeal spokesperson in response to ET's email query.

"This initiative is at a feedback stage and further steps will be initiated on the basis of seller response. This is not a change in policy, but may be introduced as an optional facility for those sellers who find this of interest. The proposed arrangement will be directly between the seller and participating banks on Capital Assist platform," it added.

While some sellers say the move will benefit smaller vendors in increasing cash flow, others are not impressed with the 0.5% charge. "It would have been better if payment was made upfront instead of just three days before due date," said Sanjay Thakur, president, eSeller Suraksha Forum, which is a group of online vendors.

All India Online Vendors' Association (AIOVA), which is a group of 1000 medium to large sellers, said that there's a necessity for a regulatory body for ecommerce on the lines of Trai, Sebi and IRDA as the marketplace should not be charging extra (0.5%) on sellers' money.

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