Zomato Introduces Additional CoD Fee for Customers

New Payment-Linked Charge Adds to Customer Costs: Zomato has started levying a separate “Pay on Delivery Fee” on select cash-on-delivery (COD) orders. The additional charge is at least ₹5, while reports indicate that some customers have seen fees of ₹20 or even ₹21 depending on the order and location. The COD fee is shown separately from existing platform, delivery, packaging charges and applicable taxes. Customers choosing online payment are not charged this additional COD fee, making digital payment comparatively more attractive. Zomato has not publicly clarified the exact methodology used to determine the fee or whether the rollout is uniform across India. Strategic Significance for Zomato's Monetisation Strategy: The move represents another monetisation lever for Zomato as food-delivery platforms look to increase revenue per order. Even a small additional fee can become meaningful at Zomato's large order volumes if the charge is applied broadly. The fee may also encourage customers to shift from cash to digital payments, potentially reducing the operational complexity associated with cash collection. However, higher customer charges could affect order frequency or customer satisfaction, particularly among price-sensitive users.