Zomato adds Rs 5–Rs 21 fee on cash-on-delivery food orders
Zomato has begun charging a variable pay-on-delivery fee for cash-on-delivery orders, citing the added cost of cash and QR-payment handling. The charge is separate from platform fees and could steer customers towards prepaid transactions; Swiggy has not announced a comparable CoD fee.
What happened
Zomato has introduced a variable Rs 5-Rs 21 pay-on-delivery fee for cash-on-delivery food orders, citing added cash and QR-payment handling. The charge is
Key facts
- Pay-on-delivery fee: Rs 5-Rs 21 per cash-on-delivery order
- Example fees observed: Rs 7 and Rs 12
- March 2026 platform fee: Rs 14.9 per order, up from Rs 12.5
- Q1 FY27 revenue from platform fees and other food-delivery charges: Rs 154 crore
- Swiggy platform fee introduced in 2023: Rs 2
What changed
Zomato has introduced a variable Rs 5-Rs 21 pay-on-delivery fee for cash-on-delivery food orders, citing added cash and QR-payment handling. The charge is separate from other fees; Swiggy has not introduced a comparable CoD fee.
Why this matters
Zomato’s Rs 5–Rs 21 cash-on-delivery fee can improve order economics and reduce cash-handling friction, but operators should monitor whether it shifts demand to prepaid orders or suppresses conversion among cash-reliant users.
What to watch
- Change in prepaid share, particularly among former CoD customers.
- CoD order volume, checkout abandonment, cancellations and doorstep refusal rates after the fee rollout.
- Average order value and order-frequency trends in lower-income, smaller-city and low-ticket cohorts.
- Swiggy introducing, rejecting or explicitly marketing against a comparable CoD fee.
- Zomato's reported contribution-margin improvement, customer-service complaints and fee rollback/expansion signals.