SUMMARY
The service is currently live in Delhi-NCR
Paytm expects to drive its mobile payments services for purchasing food both online and offline
Zomato sees this opportunity to create a much larger user base
Paytm users will now be able to order food directly from the app. The digital payments company has partnered with food delivery company Zomato to take food orders using its payment app from across the country, especially focussing on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
The feature is already live in Delhi-NCR, Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications Ltd, said in a press release.
“Our association with Zomato is a valuable addition to our platform in bringing the convenience of ordering food online through our app,” Paytm senior vice-president Renu Satti said.
Paytm maintains that a majority of its customers are from mid-tier cities. With this integration, Paytm expects to drive its mobile payments services for purchasing food both online and offline. According to the company, Paytm QR feature is already gaining traction as an offline payments platform for restaurants.
The company is also engaged in enabling Paytm BHIM UPI for offline payments. It claims that more than six million offline merchants out of its 9.5 million offline merchant base accept Paytm BHIM UPI for various purchases.
“We are excited to be partnering with Paytm to integrate our online food delivery service with their mobile app. This will allow us to reach a much larger user base and add to the overall experience of ordering from Zomato,” Mohit Gupta, CEO of Zomato said.
Zomato claims to have achieved a monthly order run rate of 28 million in December 2018. It says to be currently covering over 80k restaurants across 100 cities in India, with over 1.5 lakh last-mile delivery fleet.
Food delivery startups have been the key drivers of growth in the Indian consumer services sector. According to the Indian Tech Startup Funding Report, 2018, by Inc42, foodtech startups received more than $1.5 Bn investment last year. Of this, Swiggy secured a lion’s share with a whopping $1.3 Bn, while Zomato raised $410 Mn.
According to a study by Netscribes Research, the online food delivery segment in India is expected to expand by 34%-36% between 2015 and 2020. With this partnership, Zomato is expected to gain a substantial rise in online food ordering penetration in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where Paytm has a better reach and user base.
