Mobile Code at Checkout
A Mobile Code Before the Order, for Cash or Online Payment
A confirmed mobile number is the courier's lifeline and your best defence against fake orders. One card decides it for each way of paying: cash on delivery, online payment, or both, asked right under the number or at the payment step.
- In every plan
- Free for 14 days
Kosha is a demo store on Mercayo. Its products, orders and customers are sample data.
In short
What It Does
Mobile Code at Checkout, in Settings → Checkout and COD, sets the code for each way of paying:
| Way of Paying | Choices |
|---|---|
| Cash on Delivery | Off, Every COD order, or Only risky COD orders (those the RTO Shield scores medium and high, or high only) |
| Online Payments | Off, or Every prepaid order |
Two switches go with them: Codes by WhatsApp too (shoppers may get the code on WhatsApp instead of SMS, for either way of paying) and Ask right after the mobile number (on: the code is asked under the number, before the address; off: at the payment step).
The Code Itself
It is one code for the checkout, whatever it confirms: 6 digits, valid for 10 minutes, 5 tries, at most 3 codes per number in 15 minutes, checked against a salted fingerprint and never stored as it is. Codes leave the moment the shopper presses SEND CODE. A code the shopper confirmed for this bag counts for any way of paying, so a shopper who confirmed for cash on delivery and then decides to pay online is not asked again.
Cash on Delivery
A COD order uses its confirmed code up when it is placed: the code must belong to this bag and this number and have been confirmed in the last 15 minutes. With Only risky COD orders, shoppers whose order scores low place it without a code. Part payment for COD is a COD order and follows these choices.
Online Payments
With Every prepaid order, the shopper confirms the number before the payment window opens, so no payment is started for an order with a wrong number. A number confirmed for this bag in the last 30 minutes is not asked again (after a reload, or a second try after a failed payment), and neither is a signed-in shopper's own confirmed number. Paying again for an order already placed is never asked.
By SMS or WhatsApp
COD codes go by SMS on Mercayo's registered template, or on WhatsApp when the shopper chooses it and you allow it. The SMS for prepaid orders is a new template that is waiting for approval under India's DLT rules. Until it is approved, the card says so: with Codes by WhatsApp too on and WhatsApp working, prepaid codes go on WhatsApp now; with neither, prepaid orders are placed without a code, because the payment itself shows the buyer is real and nobody is stopped by a code that cannot reach them. Once the template is approved, SMS starts carrying it with no change on your side.
On the Order
Every order says how its mobile was confirmed: Mobile confirmed by code, or Mobile confirmed by the shopper's account, under the customer's phone on the order page, for prepaid and COD orders alike.
For your store
Why It Matters
A wrong mobile number on a cash order costs a parcel's trip there and back. On a prepaid order it costs less, but it still costs: the courier cannot call, a failed delivery waits for an answer nobody gets, and order updates on WhatsApp go nowhere.
Asking every shopper for a code is a trade-off, which is why it is a choice per way of paying. Many stores ask only on cash on delivery, or only on risky cash orders; a store with high-value prepaid orders, or a problem with payments made on stolen details, can ask on prepaid orders too.
A code also saves effort later: your team calls numbers that are known to work, and the order page shows which numbers were confirmed and how.
Step by step
How It Works
Open Mobile Code at Checkout
In Settings → Checkout and COD, the Mobile Code at Checkout card sits under the Checkout card. Settings → COD Rules and PIN Codes links to it at the top of the page, and the RTO Shield card points to it for risky orders.
Choose for Cash on Delivery
Pick Off, Every COD order or Only risky COD orders. For risky only, choose Which Orders: medium and high risk, or high risk only. If the RTO Shield's scoring is off, the card tells you that no order would be scored as risky.
Choose for Online Payments
Pick Every prepaid order to ask before the payment starts. Read the line under it: while the prepaid SMS template waits for approval, it says whether codes will go on WhatsApp now or whether prepaid orders are placed without a code until then.
Decide on WhatsApp and Where It Is Asked
Switch on Codes by WhatsApp too to let shoppers choose WhatsApp; if your store's WhatsApp is not connected, the card says codes go by SMS. Keep Ask right after the mobile number on to ask before the address, or switch it off to ask at the payment step. Press SAVE.
The Shopper Confirms the Number
Under the mobile number, checkout says "We'll text a 6-digit code to" the number "to confirm your order" (or "your cash on delivery order"). The shopper presses SEND CODE, types the code and presses VERIFY. At the payment step, a shopper paying online who has not confirmed sees "To pay online, please confirm your mobile number with a code first."
The Order Shows How It Was Confirmed
On the order page, the customer card says Mobile confirmed by code or Mobile confirmed by the shopper's account, so your team knows which numbers are proven before calling or shipping.
Your shoppers
What Your Shoppers See
One short step under the mobile number: "We'll text a 6-digit code to +91 98xxxxx10 to confirm your order", SEND CODE, the 6 digits, VERIFY, and "Mobile number confirmed". A shopper who already confirmed this number for this bag, or who is signed in with it, does not see the step for an online payment. A shopper who wants the code on WhatsApp can choose it where you allow it.
Settings
Settings You Control
All are under Settings → Checkout and COD → Mobile Code at Checkout.
Mercayo
Mercayo's Controls
Each of these choices can be set or limited by Mercayo for one store, with a reason your admin shows beside the locked choice: for example the COD code forced on for a store with many refused parcels. Every such change is in Mercayo's audit log. The code's limits (10 minutes, 5 tries, 3 codes per number in 15 minutes) are the same for every store. Mercayo keeps the SMS templates registered under India's DLT rules, and the prepaid template starts working for every store once it is approved.
Limits today
Good to Know Before You Start
- The SMS for prepaid orders' codes is waiting for approval under India's DLT rules; until then prepaid codes go on WhatsApp where it is allowed and working, and otherwise prepaid orders are placed without a code.
- Orders placed for delivery abroad are not asked for a code, and neither are orders your team makes in the admin.
- A signed-in shopper's confirmed number skips the code for online payments only; cash on delivery still asks for a code on each order.
- The code confirms the number, not the address.
Questions
About Mobile Code at Checkout
Can I ask for a code only on cash on delivery?
Yes. Choose Every COD order (or Only risky COD orders) and leave Online Payments off. That is how most stores use it.
Will a shopper be asked twice?
No. One code confirms the number for the bag, for either way of paying. For an online payment, a number confirmed in the last 30 minutes, or a signed-in shopper's own number, is not asked again.
Why does the card say the SMS template is waiting for approval?
Every business SMS in India must match a template registered with the telecom operators (DLT). The template for prepaid orders' codes has been sent for approval. Until it is approved, prepaid codes can go on WhatsApp; COD codes already go by SMS on their own approved template.
What happens when no channel can carry a prepaid code?
The order is placed without one. The payment itself shows the buyer is real, and a shopper is never stopped by a code that cannot reach them. Cash on delivery is different: a risky COD order whose code cannot be asked is held for your team's call instead.
Does the code cost anything?
Each code is a message, by SMS or WhatsApp, counted with your store's other messages: first from your plan's monthly messages, then from your notification credits.
Where is the code asked?
With Ask right after the mobile number on (the default), right under the number, before the address. Off, at the payment step, just before the order is placed.
Help Centre
In the Help Centre
Related
Related Features
- COD Confirmation CodeShoppers confirm their mobile number with a 6-digit code before a cash on delivery order is placed, so orders with wrong numbers never happen.
- RTO ShieldEvery cash on delivery order gets a 0-100 risk score with plain reasons, and your store chooses what happens to risky ones: a call, a code or part payment.
- Phone-First CheckoutOne page that starts with the mobile number and the PIN code, fills in the city and state, shows clear errors and a price breakdown that adds up.
- Online PaymentsShoppers pay by UPI, card, net banking or wallet through your own Razorpay account; Mercayo confirms every payment on its server and never holds your money.
- SMSMercayo sends your store's SMS through its own DLT-registered sender and templates, so you need no SMS account, header or registration of your own.
- WhatsAppOrder updates, COD confirmation buttons, bag reminders, back-in-stock alerts and offers on WhatsApp, in your store's name, from Mercayo's number or your own.
More in Checkout and Payments: Phone-First Checkout · Online Payments · Bag and Bag Drawer · Delivery Options at Checkout · Gift Options · Quick Checkout for Returning Shoppers · Thank-You Page · Bot Protection
Try It on Your Own Store
Every feature is in every plan, free for 14 days.
