Zomato has introduced an additional charge for customers who choose cash on delivery, adding another fee to the food-delivery platform’s increasingly detailed order bills. The new charge appears separately as a “Pay on Delivery Fee” and is applicable when customers choose to pay in cash when their food arrives.
New Fee Appears at Checkout
The additional charge is being displayed separately in Zomato’s order bill when the cash-on-delivery option is selected.
Unlike some standard charges, however, the fee is not uniform across all orders. Different amounts have reportedly appeared for different users and order values.
The exact formula used by Zomato to determine the fee remains unclear. It has not been established whether the charge depends on the value of the order, the customer’s location, individual user characteristics or other factors.
Online Payments Avoid the Extra Charge
Customers who pay online through options such as UPI or cards do not incur the new pay-on-delivery fee.
The charge is specifically linked to the choice of paying in cash at the time of delivery.
Reports from users and app checks have indicated fees commonly starting at ₹5while some orders have shown higher amounts. Other reports have found charges reaching ₹20 or more, suggesting that the fee is variable rather than a single nationwide flat charge.
Another Addition to Zomato’s Order Bill
The new fee comes on top of charges that customers may already encounter when placing a food order.
Zomato currently applies a platform feewhile delivery charges, restaurant packaging fees, taxes and other applicable charges can also form part of the final bill.
The introduction of a separate cash-payment fee gives Zomato another way to generate revenue from individual orders while potentially encouraging customers to shift towards digital payments.
Swiggy Has No Similar Fee
Zomato’s move also creates a difference between the two major food-delivery platforms.
Swiggy does not currently levy a separate cash-on-delivery feegiving customers using its COD option an advantage on this particular charge.
Whether Swiggy eventually introduces a similar fee remains uncertain.
Food Delivery Platforms Seek More Revenue
The new charge comes as food-delivery companies continue experimenting with different monetisation strategies.
Zomato has already increased its platform fee over time, while the industry has also seen growing competition from newer food-delivery services.
For Zomato, even a relatively small fee can potentially generate meaningful additional revenue given the company’s large order volumes. At the same time, adding more charges could influence customers who are particularly sensitive to the final cost of an order.
Cash Payments Could Become Less Attractive
The pay-on-delivery fee effectively creates a financial incentive for customers to choose online payment.
For users who already prefer UPI or cards, the change may have little impact. But customers who rely on cash, either because they prefer it or do not regularly use digital payments, will now have to pay more for the same food order.
Summary: Zomato has started charging a separate “Pay on Delivery Fee” on cash-on-delivery orders. The amount varies across users and orders, with reports indicating charges commonly starting at ₹5 and reaching ₹20 or more in some cases. Online payments are exempt from the fee, while Swiggy currently does not impose a similar COD charge.