YES Bank's tie up with Smartbox to help reduce delivery returns

Private sector bank YES Bank has tied up with Smartbox Ecommerce Solutions for solving challenges related to last mile delivery for e-commerce players.

YES Bank in a statement here today said that it will help power the payment solutions for Smartbox network of Automated Parcel Delivery Terminals.

The Cash on Delivery model continues to account for over 50% of the e-commerce market which is slated to reach a size of $100 billion by 2020 and YES Bank's partnership will address this crucial challenge and help reduce costs for e-commerce companies while offering additional convenience to online shoppers.

With this association COD will be handled as CSOD (card swipe on delivery) on the terminals – thereby reducing the burden of handling cash on the entire ecosystem.

Smartbox has already launched 12 terminals which have been installed at primary metro stations and business centers in the Delhi NCR region. This network is expected to be expanded to over 1,000 locations covering 8 major cities in India by the end of 2016.

Today’s busy online shoppers are either unavailable at home or busy at office which results in delayed delivery, delivery re-attempts, or just unwanted courier coordination for an already short-on-time consumers. Now, these shoppers can choose a Smartbox terminal near their office or home as a delivery option at the time of check out while shopping at our partner eShops. When the parcel arrives, consumers will receive an OTP that can be used at Smartbox terminal to pick-up the parcels at a time convenient to them.

Speaking on the partnership Ritesh Pai, Senior President & Country Head, Digital Banking, YES Bank, said, “It helps e-commerce companies by helping them reduce high costs and bring in efficiencies in their logistics, while providing a convenient and secure option for online shoppers to get delivery of their products."

The Smartbox solution uses technologyand smart physical infrastructure to store, track, notify and deliver. The cloud-based system is robust and scalable that integrates easily & quickly with e-commerce portals.

Smartbox is in advanced discussions and integration stage with various leading e-commerce companies in India to start offering this delivery option.

Meanwhile, YES Bank has also launched ‘Bank in a Box’ at client locations handling large cash transactions to improve efficiencies in the financial value chain. It has already launched 255 boxes across retail, hospitals, schools, airlines and logistics clients. This will be expanded to 1,000 within a year.