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2016 was a watershed year for the Indian Payments space. With the entire country going digital, Shipping has no choice but to adopt and adapt to the changes from Cash to Cashless. The various Digital or Electronics payments push from Govt. is now resonating even in this Industry where till date, a majority of the transactions were either via Cash or Cheques. Payment is an integral part of the Import/Export business and Money is exchanged between various stakeholders at different phases. Credit – especially in Imports – is near Zero – and this is where Online Payments help save time and costs and reduces the dwell time for Cargo. Also, the delays in payment realization, even in Electronic Payments – can add to other peripheral costs – like CFS ground rent charges and truck detention charges. Add to this the necessity of maintaining and managing transaction history, including KYC and other statutory compliances – have made electronic, real-time payments a necessity for all Stakeholders in this industry. Most of us are aware of the Payment Gateways, UPI, Wallets, and such and the associated benefits and working. But most of these are very relevant to Retail Banking, but not so for the B2B space, where the complexities of corporate payments have to be taken into consideration. When ODeX ventured into the Payments domain, little did we know that the challenge would be huge! We always thought that Banking in India was far more matured and streamlined, but the reality was quite different. First, the Indian Electronic payments system caters to the Retail customer and not B2B, obviously due to the sheer lack of ROI in the Corporate space. The initial task for ODeX was to ensure we had direct Integration with few Banks especially the ones which are widely used by Trade. This solutioning took the team continuous follow-ups and testing but ultimately achieved the goal. The next target was a Bank Agnostic system where the Banks which did not have the necessary IT infrastructure could also be party, especially realizing the huge potential with the Customers using the lesser recognized Co-operative Banks. ODeX partnered with a Private Bank to get this model running, commonly known by ODeX customers as VAN (Virtual Account Number). VAN as a concept was not new, yet the education and acceptance took considerable time and effort. Especially since every Customer is a Corporate house having different teams like Documentation, Operations, Accounts, etc. However, this VAN is now used by a majority of customers due to the absolute ease of work and quick response. One of the challenges has been the slow adaptation towards change even though the change brings a host of benefits and cost-saving measures. But innovation and quick implementation would be the answer for this. Lastly, you cannot change the mindset of everyone. But, whoever is fast to change would surely gain efficiencies in the game. ODeX has been a pioneer in developing new solutions for the Shipping industry and we hope that the Indian Exporter/Importer/Shipping Community enjoy the “Ease of Doing Business” in its true sense with our help. Do write to us for your views on Payments in Shipping . We’re happy to assist you and your business.