Amazon woos restaurants with lower commissions; Acko partners with ZestMoney to offer credit insurance

Amazon is reportedly trying to get restaurants onboard by offering reduced commissions. Digital insurance platform Acko General Insurance has partnered with digital lending startup ZestMoney to offer credit insurance.

Amazon proposes lower commissions to attract restaurants 

US-based retail giant Amazon has come up with a competitive commission proposal to attract restaurants on its Amazon Restaurant platform, The Economic Times reported.

The news comes days after reports suggested that Amazon might enter food delivery biz.

The introductory fee in the proposal is as low as 6-7% compared to 15-17% commission restaurants paid to food aggregators, the report said.

Amazon will reportedly launch the platform in Bengaluru around Diwali through Prime Now.

The retail behemoth has apparently roped in cloud kitchens like Eat.Fit, FreshMenu, Foodpanda and Rebel Foods. It further aims to add restaurants like McDonald’s, Domino’s, KFC, and regional chains, the report said.

Droom collaborates with Ostrich Mobility to launch electric wheelchair

Online marketplace for new and used vehicles Droom has launched an electric wheelchair category on its platform. It is also set to launch products like mobility scooter and manual wheelchair, the company said in a statement.

Droom has collaborated with  Bengaluru-based electric wheelchair manufacturer Ostrich Mobility to provide mobility solutions to the elderly and the differently-abled.

The electric wheelchair is powered by split frame technology, making it more navigable, durable and cost-effective when compared to other powered wheelchairs available in the market. 

“Introducing electric wheelchair on our platform is our effort towards going beyond making profits to assert a greater impact on the society for its holistic benefit. While many efforts have been made towards providing better physical infrastructure for the seniors and the differently-abled, the automobile domain has not quite shown a proactive stance towards the same,” said  Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and chief executive officer, Droom.

The electric wheelchairs will be available on the Droom’s online platform across 19 cities. The wheelchair is priced between Rs 70,000 and Rs 3.5 lakh, the company added.

Acko partners with ZestMoney to offer credit insurance 

Mumbai-based digital insurance platform Acko General Insurance has partnered with Bengaluru-based digital lending startup ZestMoney to offer credit insurance to its consumers.

Under the deal, the company will offer credit insurance to the consumers and cover them during eventualities like hospitalisation or critical illness when the consumer is unable to pay the instalments, it added.

“At ZestMoney, we are making EMI financing hassle-free and truly digital for a billion Indians, and with credit insurance, we add another feather to our cap,” said Priya Sharma, co-founder and chief financial officer, ZestMoney.

The claims can be filed through the ZestMoney app. The process is designed to minimise hassles for consumers and ensure quick claim settlement, the company added. 

Zomato inks deal with FarEye 

Gurugram-based online food delivery startup Zomato has signed an agreement with logistics management startup FarEye.

Delhi-based RoboticWare, which runs FarEye, will power Zomato with its intelligent route optimisation engine to reduce the cost of pickups and deliveries, the companies said in a joint statement.

Its state-of-the-art platform will help Zomato in several ways like third-party integrations, electronic proof of deliveries (ePoD), dynamic slot booking, easy-to-use mobile application, instant alerts and notifications via SMS and WhatsApp and easy to navigate dashboards for KPI management, FarEye said in the statement.

The machine learning platform will help Zomato gain end-to-end visibility of logistics activities and boost key performance indicators (KPI) management of third-party logistics providers, it added.

“We are certain that Zomato’s knowledge and expertise in India's food industry combined with FarEye’s technical competence will have a positive impact on the way restaurants execute their delivery and logistics operation. Our data-driven and intelligent logistics visibility platform will empower Zomato to deliver delightful customer experiences,” said Kushal Nahata, co-founder and chief executive officer, FarEye.