How the Network Works
On ONDC a transaction is split across independent participants that each play a defined role and talk to one another over the open protocol. A buyer app discovers and orders from a seller app; a gateway broadcasts search; a registry lists who's trusted; and logistics providers move the goods.
One order, step by step
On the ONDC network, a single purchase is handled by several cooperating companies instead of one marketplace: the app you shop on, the platform your seller uses, and (for physical goods) a delivery provider all talk to each other over a shared open protocol. The steps below follow one order through that chain, drawn from ONDC's own site and its public technical documentation (crawled 24 July 2026).
ONDC has multiple shopping applications (called Buyer Apps), and different apps have enabled different categories — products, travel tickets, delivery as a service, loans/investments/insurance, employment skilling, international shopping and more. The shopper first picks a Buyer App that covers what they want to buy; ONDC's own 'start shopping' page lists apps such as Paytm, Mystore and Craftvilla by category. As the network matures, more categories will be enabled by ONDC Protocol-compliant buyer applications.
When the shopper searches inside the Buyer App, the request doesn't stay in one company's catalog. The Buyer App speaks the ONDC protocol (built on the open Beckn protocol), and network infrastructure — the gateway and the registry of network participants — relays the request to the platforms sellers use (Seller Apps). ONDC's protocol server 'handles transactions between the gateway and network participants', and a catalog service ingests 'on_search' catalog data and indexes it so the most relevant results reach the shopper.
The shopper picks an item and places the order in the Buyer App. Behind the scenes the Buyer App and the Seller App exchange structured API calls defined by the ONDC protocol specifications — the same contract every network participant implements (ONDC's reference buyer flow covers search, initialize order, and checkout). The network uses Ed25519 signatures for signing and verifying the authorization headers on these calls, so each party can verify who sent what.
The order reaches the seller through their Seller App — the platform the seller uses to list products and manage orders on the network. The seller — who may be a small retailer, artisan or producer, in some cases onboarded with help from a Digital Enablement Agency — accepts the order and gets it ready. Confirmation flows back the same way: seller to Seller App to Buyer App to shopper.
For physical goods, delivery is its own role on the network. ONDC maintains a separate logistics domain with its own API contracts, and its reference logistics application 'lets retail sellers manage delivery assignments' — the seller side assigns the delivery to a logistics provider through the network. The delivery partner then carries the order from the seller to the shopper. Buyers can also purchase delivery directly as a service (same-city or delivery to other cities) through Buyer Apps.
The shopper files a complaint with the Buyer App they ordered through. The Buyer App issues a ticket number and a promised resolution time, then coordinates with the seller, the Seller App and delivery partners to fix the issue — the Buyer App facilitates, while for product or delivery problems the seller or Seller App is typically responsible for the actual resolution (refund or replacement may depend on their investigation). The seller side normally communicates with the shopper only through the Buyer App. Under India's E-commerce Rules 2020, the Buyer App must respond within 48 hours and the complaint must be resolved within 30 days.
When something goes wrong
ONDC runs a formal grievance chain, and the network's software includes dedicated Issue & Grievance Management (IGM) services on both sides — the buyer reference app has an IGM service that lets it raise issues, and the seller reference app has a matching IGM microservice that handles complaint intake and processing. The shopper always starts with the Buyer App, which must acknowledge within 48 hours and coordinate resolution with the seller and Seller App. If the Buyer App doesn't respond in 48 hours, misses its promised timeline, or the complaint sits unresolved past 30 days, the shopper can escalate to ONDC through its Grievance Portal (quoting the Buyer App's ticket number), track status online, and get email updates (if an email address was registered when submitting the complaint). If still unsatisfied, the shopper can go to ONDC-empanelled Online Dispute Resolution providers or the consumer courts — the ONDC process never removes those legal rights.
How money settles
The sources describe the tooling rather than the money flow itself: ONDC publishes an open-source Reconciliation and Settlement Framework (RSF) — the 'RSF Utility' — that network participants use to manage order reconciliation and settlement, with a backend for 'network settlement and reconciliation operations' and a dashboard for settlement workflows. How and when funds actually move between participants is not detailed in these pages.
Buyer App (BAP)
The consumer-facing app where a buyer searches, orders and pays. Any compliant BAP can reach any seller on the network.
Seller App (BPP)
The seller-facing app that lists catalogues, accepts orders and manages fulfilment on behalf of merchants.
Gateway
Broadcasts a buyer's search across relevant seller apps so discovery isn't locked to one platform.
Registry
The network's directory of verified participants and their roles, subscriptions and endpoints.
Logistics (LSP)
Logistics Service Provider apps that seller apps can hire for pickup, movement and delivery.
Links
FAQ
Can one company play more than one role?
Yes — a participant can be a Buyer App, a Seller App, a Logistics provider, or a combination, depending on how it registers on the network.