Swiggy meets Bengaluru hoteliers as Zomato tightens approval for restaurant-funded discounts
Swiggy leadership is set to meet Bengaluru hotel and restaurant partners over alleged unauthorised discounts and payout deductions. Zomato has introduced OTP approval for restaurant-funded offers and says it will review past deductions. BHA members have flagged a potential Swiggy order stoppage from Aug. 15 if issues persist.
What happened
Swiggy leaders will meet Bengaluru hoteliers over alleged unauthorised discounts and payout deductions. Zomato introduced OTP approval for restaurant-funded
Key facts
- Five or six senior Zomato executives
- Aug 15
Why this matters
The dispute creates an opening for restaurant-tech, payments and direct-ordering partnerships that give operators more transparent promotion control and settlement visibility.
What to watch
- Whether Swiggy publicly commits to explicit pre-approval for restaurant-funded discounts and a timeline for reviewing historical deductions.
- Confirmation, scale and duration of any BHA-linked order stoppage or delisting action around Aug. 15.
- Evidence of restaurant traffic, order-share or app-ranking shifts in Bengaluru between Swiggy and Zomato.
- The number and value of disputed settlements refunded, credited or placed under review by either platform.
- Whether NRAI, other city hotel associations or major restaurant chains adopt similar demands nationally.
- Changes in platform-funded discounting, delivery fees, commission structures or advertising requirements that indicate margin recapture.
- Any regulatory or competition-policy inquiry into platform contracts, settlement practices or unilateral promotional deductions.
- Swiggy is likely to meet Bengaluru hotel and restaurant representatives, audit disputed discount deductions and offer a grievance-resolution or reconciliation process.
- Zomato is likely to market OTP approval and past-deduction reviews as a merchant-trust differentiator, particularly in Bengaluru.
- Restaurant associations may collect transaction-level evidence, coordinate member demands and seek written commitments on discount consent, settlement transparency and reimbursement timelines.
- Both platforms may shift promotions toward platform-funded offers, loyalty subscriptions, bank-funded campaigns and selective customer cohorts rather than broad restaurant-funded discounts.
- Large chain restaurants may demand bespoke contracts and tighter campaign controls, while smaller independent outlets gain leverage through collective association representation.