Swiggy Agrees to Refund Restaurant Charges After Boycott Threat

Food delivery giant Swiggy will refund promotional charges to restaurant partners, reportedly levied without explicit consent. This decision comes after a threat of boycott from numerous restaurateurs across India.

The agreement was reached following high-level negotiations between Swiggy's leadership and representatives from key industry bodies, including the Bruhat Bengaluru Hoteliers Association (BBHA), the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), and the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). As a result, these industry groups have extended the deadline for restaurants to delist from the platform from August 15 to September 1.

This extension aims to allow Swiggy to process the refunds and address the grievances of its restaurant partners. Swiggy's rival, Zomato, is facing similar demands from restaurants and has also secured an extended timeline to resolve partner concerns.

More than 250 restaurants in Bengaluru had threatened to delist from both major food delivery platforms due to unsustainable operational costs, citing inflated commissions and arbitrary additional charges. The restaurants are demanding an immediate halt to forced promotional levies, greater transparency in platform marketing initiatives, and the establishment of a dedicated support desk for operational and payment issues.