Zomato adds pay-on-delivery fee of up to Rs 20 for cash orders
Zomato has introduced a pay-on-delivery charge for cash food orders, typically Rs 5 but reportedly ranging from Rs 7 to Rs 20. Online payments are exempt, adding a new monetisation lever as food-delivery competition intensifies.
What happened
Zomato has added a pay-on-delivery fee for cash orders, usually Rs 5 but ranging up to Rs 20. Online payments are exempt. The move adds monetisation amid
Key facts
- Pay on delivery fee typically Rs 5; reported range Rs 7 to Rs 20
- Zomato platform fee Rs 14.99 per order, raised from Rs 12.50 earlier this year
- Estimated 2.3-2.5 million Zomato food orders per day
- Swiggy began testing a Rs 2 platform fee in 2023
What changed
Zomato has added a pay-on-delivery fee for cash orders, usually Rs 5 but ranging up to Rs 20. Online payments are exempt. The move adds monetisation amid intensifying food-delivery competition from Rapido Ownly, Flipkart Eat In and Swish.
Why this matters
Zomato’s cash-order surcharge nudges customers toward lower-friction digital payments while creating a modest new revenue lever, but operators should watch whether the added fee suppresses demand among cash-reliant users.
What to watch
- Evidence that cash-on-delivery share falls without a corresponding decline in total completed orders.
- Management commentary on incremental revenue per order, contribution margin, payment mix and customer-retention impact.
- Customer complaints or social-media backlash focused on stacked platform, delivery and cash-payment fees.
- Swiggy introducing, removing or undercutting comparable cash-order fees.
- Expansion of the Rs 7-Rs 20 fee band to more markets, restaurant cohorts or order-value tiers.