NRAI Says Zomato Pay, Swiggy Diner Discount Offers Against Restaurant Owners' Interest : Report

The NRAI has accused Zomato and Swiggy of making restaurants offer discounts while also paying commissions on transactions.

Written by David Delima | Updated: 2 September 2022 20:20 IST

NRAI Says Zomato Pay, Swiggy Diner Discount Offers Against Restaurant Owners' Interest : Report

Zomato and Swiggy offer discounts to customers who avail of their services

Highlights

The NRAI has reportedly issued an advisory to its members
It alleges Zomato and Swiggy discount programs don't favour restaurants
NRAI has also lashed out at commissions charged on transactions

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has reportedly written to its members in the country alleging that online food delivery services Zomato and Swiggy have been making money through their discount programmes, at the expense of restaurants. According to a report, the advisory by the NRAI refers to Zomato Pay and Swiggy Diner programmes, which are said to make restaurants offer discounts, while paying commission fees on transactions. Swiggy Diner lets customers book tables at discounts, while Zomato Pay is the company's payment service offered to customers.

According to a report by PTI, the NRAI's advisory alleges that both Zomato Pay and Swiggy Diner do not charge a subscription fee for customers to participate, while restaurant owners must offer discounts of up to 40 percent on the program.

Restaurants must also pay a commission of up to 12 percent on transactions made via payment gateways, while other gateways in the country charge a maximum of 1.5 percent, the NRAI reportedly claimed in its advisory.

The advisory also questions why restaurants must pay a commission to a "middleman" to offer discounts to their own customers. It also alleges that restaurants must offer discounts to customers paying via the programmes, even if they walked into the restaurant on their own, as per the report.

Zomato offers an online payment mechanism called Zomato Pay, which allows users to make transactions seamlessly on the service, while users can also pay using regular payment methods. On the other hand, Swiggy Diner is the company's service to book tables at restaurants at discounted rates.

"With our new dining product, now live in Hyderabad for a few weeks with great results, we are confident that we will create tremendous value and growth for the industry," a Zomato spokesperson told PTI, adding that the company was looking forward to working with "progressive restaurants who see the bigger picture". The report states that a Swiggy spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the NRAI's allegations.

Gaana CEO and Spotify's India chief join us on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, to discuss India's unique music streaming landscape. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: NRAI, Zomato, Swiggy, Zomato Pay, Swiggy Diner

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More