Best food delivery service that accepts cash? (& 4 NO!)
Food delivery services have absolutely exploded in recent years. More and more people are ordering food online for convenience and other reasons. However, many people may be frustrated by the fact that many delivery services do not accept cash.
This may not be surprising given that we live in an increasingly cashless world, but for some, it can still be frustrating. Fortunately, some delivery services still accept cash.
Food delivery services that accept cash
Food delivery services that accept cash include Grubhub, DoorDash, Seamless, Delivery.com, Uber Eats and EatStreet. However, these services will only accept cash from restaurants that choose cash as an acceptable form of payment.
Read on to find a list of delivery services that accept cash, as well as information on why some delivery services don’t.
Which food delivery services accept cash?
Most major food delivery apps will accept cash. However, unless the restaurant you order from chooses to accept cash, they will not accept cash. This means that not every order can be paid in cash.
Generally, if your order is eligible for cash payment, you will be able to use cash as a payment option at checkout. Additionally, most food delivery apps will allow their delivery drivers to accept tips in cash. If you have specific questions about payment methods, you may wish to contact each app’s individual customer service.
1. Grubb
Grubhub accepts a variety of payment methods, including cash, credit or debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Grubhub also issues gift cards that can be used to pay for Grubhub orders.
While Grubhub does allow customers to pay cash for certain orders, it’s up to each restaurant to accept cash. This means that some orders cannot be paid in cash and must use another payment method.
If a restaurant on Grubhub accepts cash, you should have the option to pay with available cash at checkout when placing your order.
2. DoorDash
Given that DoorDash is the leading food delivery app on the market today, it’s no surprise that they offer a wide range of payment options. Fortunately for us, this includes cash. They also accept credit and debit cards, as well as DoorDash gift cards. Strangely, DoorDash doesn’t accept PayPal.
Like Grubhub, DoorDash only accepts restaurants that choose to accept cash. This means that the option to pay with cash is not always available for DoorDash orders.
It’s worth noting that DoorDash drivers can always accept cash tips. However, these prompts will not be shown to the driver before or during the delivery.
3. Seamless
Seamless is another food delivery app that is mostly limited to New York City and other big cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and London, UK.
Seamless merged into the Grubhub brand in May 2013. So seamlessly accept cash as a payment method, just like Grubhub. Also like Grubhub, only orders from restaurants that accept cash will have cash as an acceptable form of payment.
Other payment methods that Seamless accepts include credit or debit cards, Paypal, Google Pay, Apple Pay and eGift cards.
4. Delivery.com
Delivery.com is another delivery service that allows customers to order food, groceries, and even alcohol. It’s available in many cities across the US, including Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Believe it or not, they are even available in Hong Kong.
Delivery.com accepts cash. Additionally, they accept credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and gift cards.
5. Uber Eats
While Uber’s ride-sharing app doesn’t accept cash, Uber Eats does. However, like other delivery services that accept cash, Uber Eats only accepts restaurants that allow cash as a payment method. In other words, the ability to pay with cash on Uber Eats depends on the restaurant you order from.
Like other apps, you can tip your Uber Eats driver in cash anytime. But keep in mind that the driver won’t see your tip before or during the delivery. Other payment methods accepted by Uber Eats include credit or debit cards, Apple Pay, Paypal, gift cards and Uber Points.
6. Eat Street
EatStreet is one of the oldest food delivery apps in the US, serving more than 250 cities across the country. Like the other apps on this list, EatStreet accepts cash on some orders. Unfortunately, like the other apps on this list, EatStreet only accepts cash for orders from restaurants that allow cash as a payment option.
If your order on EatStreet is available, you should be able to see cash as a payment option at checkout. Other payment methods accepted by EatStreet include credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Delivery service that does not accept cash
There are many different food delivery apps in the US and internationally. Most of these apps focus on delivering food orders from restaurants, but some of them include other options as well.
Below is a list of delivery apps that don’t accept cash. You’ll also find a list of payment methods that each service will accept.
1. Favor
Gift giving isn’t just for food. They can deliver almost anything to your door. While this is convenient and novel, unfortunately the service does not accept cash.
Payment methods accepted by Favor include all major credit and debit cards. Favor also issues electronic gift cards redeemable from merchants participating in the Favor delivery system. Favor gift cards cannot be redeemed for drinks.
Read: Can you split payments on DoorDash?
2. Waiter
Waitr is another food delivery service in several states across the US. They don’t accept cash delivery but do accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB and Diners.
Like most other delivery apps, Waitr doesn’t accept restaurant gift cards. They don’t currently issue their own gift cards either. However, they do have their own gift card system which is currently in development.
3. Caviar
Caviar is a logistics company acquired by DoorDash in 2019. While DoorDash does accept cash delivery, Caviar does not. However, they do accept debit or credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Payment methods can be added, changed or updated through Caviar Customer Service. It is important to ensure that you always register your payment information accurately to avoid unnecessary stress when ordering.
4. Instacart
Instacart is another well-known name in the food delivery industry. The main focus of their business model is grocery delivery, but they can also serve hot meals from select stores.
Instacart does not accept cash. However, they do accept credit or debit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal. They also accept SNAP EBT cards in some stores in some US states.
5. Shipping
Shipt is another online delivery service that not only offers food, but also items from stores like Target, CVS Pharmacy, Petco, Office Depot, and more. They also serve alcoholic beverages from select stores in certain cities.
Acceptable payment methods for Shipt orders include debit or credit cards and gift cards. Unfortunately, Shipt does not accept EBT cards as payment for orders.
Why don’t some food delivery services accept cash?
There are many reasons why a delivery service might not accept cash. Even the service that accepts cash for certain orders is at the discretion of the individual restaurant. The main reason for this is payment security.
Cash payments are received upon delivery, unlike digital payments that are collected before food is made. Subsequently, the cash payment opens the restaurant and the app until an unpaid order.
Cash payments have also created a situation where drivers may have to return to restaurants to pay for food after collecting cash from customers. This adds another layer of risk that food apps and restaurants may not want to take.
A final reason cash is not universally accepted is that drivers in certain regions may be uncomfortable carrying large amounts of cash after delivering multiple orders. All of these reasons prevent restaurants and delivery services from accepting cash.
Food delivery services that accept cash
With the growing popularity of food delivery services, we may see some trends in payments. While many of these services did not accept cash payments in the past, they have changed their tune in recent years.
Delivery services generally do not allow cash payments to minimize risk. Accepting cash opens restaurants and services, unpaid orders and other issues can arise. Therefore, even services that accept cash are limited to certain restaurants.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask them in the comments section.
