In response to a query by an online seller, Reserve Bank of India has said that ecommerce players are mandated to clear payments of merchants within two days of intimidation of the completion of a transaction.
RBI additionally said that online marketplaces need to adhere to the bank’s 2009 guidelines on settlement of payments for electronic payment transactions involving intermediaries.
As per a Times of India report, RBI’s response makes it clear that the completion of transaction here means the act of making the payment.
Currently, most ecommerce players take anywhere between a week and 15 days to settle sellers’ payments. TOI reports that Flipkart, has a 7-12 day cycle for various categories of sellers, including gold and silver retailers.
They each have a different agreement with sellers on how sellers are intimated after completion of a transaction, which in most cases is referred to as date of dispatch.
They also charge a payment collection fee from sellers for online payments and cash on delivery orders.
Amazon told TOI that it is compliant with the regulations.
Flipkart told ET that payments are done based on dispatch and payouts are done in seven to 15 days after dispatch depending on which tier the seller is categorised under.
The clarification from RBI came after a seller body complained to RBI alleging late payments by ecommerce companies.
Sellers on multiple e-commerce platforms say ecommerce players are not settling payments for prepaid orders according to the RBI regulations and they usually take about a week.
In the past, several sellers have written to the government complaining of delay in payments. In May, sellers complained against Snapdeal that the company defaulted on payments on numerous occasions.