Zomato adds ₹5–₹20 cash-on-delivery fee for food orders
Zomato has introduced an additional cash-on-delivery charge of at least ₹5, rising to ₹20 in some locations, adding to its existing platform fee as it seeks to lift order-level revenue. Swiggy has not introduced a comparable COD fee.
What happened
Zomato has started charging at least ₹5, and up to ₹20 in some locations, for cash-on-delivery food orders. The move adds to existing customer charges as the
Key facts
- ₹5 minimum additional cash-on-delivery fee
- Up to ₹20 cash-on-delivery fee in some locations
- Zepto accused of up to ₹25 extra for cash-on-delivery orders
- Platform fee increased 19.2% in March
- Platform fee rose from ₹12.50 to ₹14.90
- Current platform fee ₹14.99 excluding GST
Why this matters
Zomato’s move strengthens the strategic value of prepaid-payment, wallet, and loyalty partnerships that can offset COD friction while reducing cash-handling costs.
What to watch
- Zomato order-growth and monthly transacting customer trends in COD-heavy markets.
- Changes in prepaid versus COD order mix and COD cancellation rates.
- Swiggy announcements, app experiments, or fee changes related to cash payments.
- Consumer complaints, social-media backlash, and restaurant-partner concerns over lower conversion.
- Whether the COD fee expands nationally or rises beyond the current ₹5–₹20 range.
- Zomato tests differentiated COD fees by city, restaurant density, basket value, weather, and peak-demand periods.
- Zomato increases prepaid-payment nudges through discounts, wallet/UPI offers, or waived platform charges for digital payments.
- Swiggy highlights no-COD-fee positioning in customer acquisition messaging and targets cash-preferring users.
- Both platforms scrutinize COD cancellation, failed-delivery, and rider cash-handling costs as a route to margin improvement.