Brazilian Restaurant Group Files Antitrust Complaint Against iFood at Cade

Overview

• Abrasel filed the complaint on September 25, alleging iFood has turned an 80% market share into a closed ecosystem spanning payments, logistics, credit and in‑restaurant tools.
• The filing accuses iFood of tying its sub‑acquiring payment system to orders on the platform, enabling fees of up to 3.5% compared with a 2.28% market average cited by Brazil’s central bank.
• Abrasel claims the company uses AI to route deliveries to exclusive partners and requires proprietary APIs that make connecting to other systems harder for restaurants.
• The group also challenges the iFood Salão in‑restaurant service, saying data collected at self‑service kiosks could be used to steer customers to exclusive venues.
• Abrasel asked Cade to open an administrative case; the regulator did not comment, and iFood said it has not been notified and complies with antitrust law, with a 2023 Cade agreement already limiting certain exclusivity contracts.