Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 12: Eternal-backed food delivery platform Zomato has started charging customers an additional fee of Rs 5 to Rs 20 for choosing cash on delivery (COD), as the company looks to monetise payment methods amid intensifying competition in the food-delivery market.

The **‘pay on delivery fee’** is displayed separately in the app’s bill summary and is levied on orders where customers choose to pay in cash at the time of delivery.

App screenshots showed the charge commonly at Rs 5, while in some cases users were billed Rs 7 or as much as Rs 20, according to multiple reports.

The COD fee is separate from Zomato’s platform fee, restaurant packaging charges and GST. Customers opting for online payment are not charged the additional fee.

Zomato currently processes an estimated 2.3–2.5 million food orders a day, even as new players strengthen their presence in the sector. Rapido’s Ownly has been gaining traction, while Flipkart is piloting its Eat In food-delivery offering.

Zomato’s main rival, Swiggy, has not introduced a similar COD fee so far. It remains to be seen whether the company will follow Zomato’s move.

Food-delivery platforms began introducing platform fees in 2023, with Swiggy initially charging Rs 2 per order and Zomato subsequently following suit. Zomato increased its platform fee to Rs 14.99 per order earlier this year from Rs 12.50, with GST charged separately.

Given the current order volumes, even small increases in per-order charges can translate into hundreds of crores of rupees in annualised revenue.

Meanwhile, Zomato laid off around 250 employees in its latest round of workforce restructuring, according to a report in August. The job cuts followed a review of the company’s customer delight operating model and organisational requirements.

As part of the restructuring, Zomato decided to discontinue its Customer Delight operations in Hyderabad and consolidate its remaining in-house operations at a single location in Gurgaon.