Zomato begins charging Rs 5 for cash on delivery orders

Food delivery platform Zomato has begun charging customers an additional Rs 5 for choosing cash on delivery, adding another fee to the food-delivery platform’s growing stack of consumer-facing charges. The new “Pay on delivery fee” appears as a separate line item on Zomato’s bill summary. App listings show the charge being levied on orders where customers choose to pay in cash when the food arrives. In some cases, however, the fee appears to vary, with users being charged Rs 7 and as much as Rs 20.

The fee is separate from Zomato’s platform fee, restaurant packaging charges and GST. Customers who choose to pay in cash on delivery are charged the additional amount, but those paying online do not incur the fee.

This comes at a time when competition in the food-delivery space is heating up. New entrants are stepping up their presence, with Rapido’s Ownly gaining traction and Flipkart piloting its Eat In food-delivery offering.

Startups such as Swish have have also raised fresh funding, adding to the competitive pressure on incumbents such as Zomato and Swiggy.

It was first reported in April 2023 that food-delivery platforms had begun introducing platform fees, with Swiggy testing a Rs 2 charge. Zomato subsequently introduced its own platform fee. What started as a nominal charge has since grown substantially. Zomato’s platform fee was raised to Rs 14.99 per order earlier this year, from Rs 12.5, with GST charged separately.