Zomato adds pay-on-delivery fee for cash food orders

Zomato has introduced a separate pay-on-delivery fee, typically Rs 5, for cash food orders, while online payments remain exempt. Reported charges vary by user and order, adding a monetisation lever as competition in Indian food delivery intensifies.

— Source publishedSat, 12 Sept, 2026, 17:27 IST·First seen Sat, 12 Sept, 2026, 18:28 IST·Source NDTV Profit

What happened

Zomato has introduced a separate pay-on-delivery fee, typically Rs 5, for cash food orders, with reported variations. Online payments are exempt. The move adds

Key facts

  • Rs 5 pay-on-delivery fee
  • Rs 7 fee reported in some cases
  • Rs 20 fee reported in some cases
  • Rs 6 fee reported in some cases
  • 2.3-2.5 million daily orders
  • Rs 1.15-1.25 crore theoretical daily revenue
  • Rs 420-456 crore theoretical annual revenue
  • 240 Hyderabad employees

Why this matters

The move reinforces that payment behavior is becoming a strategic margin lever in Indian food delivery, making fintech, wallet, and loyalty partnerships more valuable targets for platforms seeking prepaid-order adoption.

What to watch

  • Change in cash-order share and prepaid-payment conversion after rollout.
  • Order conversion and repeat-rate trends among historically COD-heavy users.
  • Average order value and cancellation/return-to-origin rates for COD versus prepaid orders.
  • Evidence of fee variation above Rs 5 by geography, basket size or user segment.
  • Customer complaints, social-media backlash or regulatory scrutiny over surcharge disclosure.
  • Swiggy or other delivery platforms launching matching cash-order fees or COD restrictions.
  • Test higher or dynamically priced pay-on-delivery fees by city, basket value, customer frequency and peak-demand periods.
  • Pair the fee with targeted UPI/card incentives, wallet offers and saved-payment prompts to accelerate prepaid conversion.
  • Tighten COD eligibility for high-cancellation users, remote delivery zones and low-value orders.
  • Reframe the charge as a cash-handling or service fee if customer pushback increases.
  • Monitor competitor pricing responses, especially Swiggy's treatment of cash orders and platform fees.