Food Delivery Services That Accept Cash
An evening at home may be in the works, and dinner plans must be made. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to accept the hard work of home cooking or the horror of leftovers. A wide range of delivery services now offer to bring a fresh, hot take-out order straight from your favorite restaurant to your front door.
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These services are available through websites or mobile apps that carry a list of merchants and menu choices and, in some cases, reviews and recommendations. Payment for the order can be made online with a credit or debit card. Some delivery companies will also accept a cash payment. Not all accept cash, however, and the ones that do set some conditions.
Some of the food delivery services that accept cash are:
GrubHub
DoorDash
Uber Eats
Delivery.com
Seamless
Food Delivery Services That Take Cash
Some food delivery services allow customers to browse a restaurant’s offerings and then order their food online. Those who want to pay with cash have to select the “pay with cash” option when they’re checking out. Here is a closer look at some of the food delivery services that accept cash as payment.
DoorDash
A leading restaurant delivery service, DoorDash accepts credit and debit cards, PayPal and DoorDash-branded gift cards. The restaurant you’re ordering from must allow cash payments for its DoorDash deliveries in order for this option to be available for you.
When setting up their accounts, DoorDash drivers also have the option to accept cash orders, but they aren’t required to do so. This system prevents issues with DoorDash pushing cash orders out to unprepared drivers.
GrubHub
GrubHub, another leading food delivery company, accepts cash, cards, gift cards and digital wallet payments from PayPal, Android Pay and Apple Pay. As with DoorDash, the restaurant that takes the order must accept cash payments.
Uber Eats
Uber started as an online ride-sharing app. In 2015, the business expanded into food delivery — including groceries — with a new service called Uber Eats.
In some markets, Uber Eats will accept cash. In the United States, cash can be used for tips, but in-app tips are also accepted. For simplicity’s sake, drivers generally prefer receiving tips in cash rather than having these gratuity payments processed through their employer’s app.
Delivery.com
Delivery.com handles a wide range of transaction types, including restaurant take-out and delivery of alcohol, groceries and even laundry and dry cleaning. Food orders can be paid for with cash if the merchant accepts cash payments. The delivery service’s website offers a complete listing of services and locations. Even if you live in a smaller city, you may have Delivery.com service available.
Seamless
This company began as a delivery service connecting businesses to restaurants and caterers in New York and other major metropolitan areas. It later branched out to serve individual customers and merged with GrubHub. Like GrubHub, Seamless will accept cash for orders.
Delivery Services That Don’t Accept Cash
Companies that focus on grocery delivery, such as Shipt and Instacart, don’t accept cash payments under any circumstances. This is also true of Postmates, Amazon Fresh, Favor and Bite Squad.
Of course, for customers who don’t have a credit or debit card and don’t use apps such as Apple Pay, a cash transaction may be the only way to have a take-out order delivered.
Why Not Take Cash?
For busy, high-volume businesses like restaurants, accepting cash can cause issues. If, for any reason, the transaction doesn’t work out and the order is cancelled, the merchant takes the loss on the order. That’s why card payments, although they incur a fee, are preferred — they assure the merchant that the labor and ingredients that went into preparing the meal will earn the business money.
Even on platforms that take cash orders, not all restaurants and merchants that sign up for the service will accept cash on delivery.
It’s also true that not all drivers opt for cash deliveries. Although the volume of offers they receive on the delivery app would be higher, the hassle of making change and the risk of carrying cash make it simply easier to handle only pre-paid orders. What’s more, if the cash has to be returned to the restaurant, the driver is required to make the trip back to that merchant, causing a double expense of time.
Paying With Cash
If you choose to pay in cash when ordering from a restaurant and service that allows it, it’s best to have small bills available. Drivers don’t tend to carry a lot of cash with them, although they may be prepared to make a small amount of change. The delivery companies allow their drivers to keep the cash tendered by customers and will then deduct the order amount from the driver’s compensation.
If a driver is unable to make change, they may ask you for another form of payment. Whether or not your order can be paid for in cash, it’s always possible to tip your delivery driver in cash — no matter what delivery service you’re using. And because tips and order amounts don’t have to be paid separately, the most common way to pay in cash and tip your driver is to simply instruct the driver to “keep the change.”
FAQ
Can you pay cash on delivery apps?
Yes, you may find that some restaurants listed on delivery apps will have the option to pay with cash.
What delivery app takes cash?
GrubHub, DoorDash and Uber Eats are a few of the delivery apps that take cash. Keep in mind that even on platforms that take cash orders, not all restaurants and merchants that sign up for the service will accept cash on delivery.
Can I pay cash with DoorDash?
DoorDash accepts cash as payment but the restaurant you’re ordering from must allow cash payments for its DoorDash deliveries in order for this option to be available for you.
Can you pay for GrubHub orders with cash?
GrubHub accepts cash as payment but the restaurant you're ordering from must accept cash payments for the option to be available for you.
Information is accurate as of Dec. 6, 2022.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Food Delivery Services That Accept Cash
