Does Uber Eats Take Cash?

Does Uber Eats take cash? It’s a question you might be asking yourself if you’re looking to order food with Uber Eats, but don’t want to use a credit or debit card or another payment method.

In this post, we’ll answer whether or not Uber Eats takes cash. The short answer is that Uber Eats does not take cash in the United States. However, it does take cash in select countries throughout the world.

In the United States, Uber East does not take cash. If you want to pay for your Uber Eats order, you have to pay via the app using a credit card or debit card, or another online payment option. Uber Eats drivers in the US do not carry cash and cannot accept cash payments for your order.

Here’s what you can use to pay for your Uber Eats order in the United States:

1. Credit or Debit Card. Uber Eats accepts all major credit or debit cards (i.e. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover). This is usually the easiest payment method and the way I usually pay for my orders.

2. Apple Pay. If you have an iPhone, you can pay for your order using Apple Pay. This is a fast, safe, and convenient option to pay for your order since you can add your cards to Apple Pay, then pay with that (rather than having to add your card again to Uber Eats).

3. PayPal. If you have PayPal set up, you can pay for your order using PayPal. You’ll just need to link it to Uber Eats.

4. Venmo. Venmo is another online payment option you can use to pay for your orders. You’ll need to link your Venmo account to Uber Eats, which is easily done via the Uber Eats app.

5. Gift Cards. If you have Uber gift cards, you can use those to pay for your Uber Eats order too.

6. Uber Credits. Some people may have Uber credits in their Uber Eats account. You can use these credits to pay for all or part of your order.

Tipping Uber Eats Drivers With Cash

Uber Eats gives customers the option to leave a tip when placing an order with the app. Uber drivers keep 100% of the tips they receive, so if you tip via the Uber Eats app, the driver will receive 100% of the tip.

If you want, you can opt to tip via cash instead. When your driver arrives, simply give them the cash tip.

One important thing to note is that Uber Eats drivers don’t expect cash tips, so if you don’t tip in the app, the payout that the Uber Eats driver will see is going to be a low amount. If the payout is too low, many drivers won’t accept the delivery request, which means you could be waiting a while for your order to be accepted by a driver.

My advice is to tip in the app so that the drivers see you have tipped and will pick up your order. It’s riskier for a driver to accept an order without a tip and hope for a cash tip.

Where Does Uber Eats Take Cash?

Uber Eats accepts cash payments in a few countries. A few countries where cash payments are accepted include:

India
Saudi Arabia
Vietnam
Philippines
Indonesia
Japan

There are more countries that take cash and this is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Rather, it’s intended to be a sampling of countries where Uber Eats takes cash.

In general, the countries where Uber Eats accepts cash payments are ones where cash is regularly used and fewer people use credit cards. This is why Uber Eats in the United States does not take cash, since credit cards and online payment methods are widely used.

Final Thoughts

In the United States, Uber Eats does not take cash. If you are placing an order, you are going to have to pay for it using a credit card, debit card, or some other accepted online payment method.

You can still leave your driver a cash tip in the United States. However, I don’t recommend doing that unless you are providing a cash tip in addition to leaving a tip in the app. This is because Uber Eats drivers decide whether to accept a specific order based on the payout they are receiving for it. If you don’t leave a tip in the app, the payout is often too small for drivers to want to accept the order.

I hope that information is helpful. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below. If you’re interested in learning more about how Uber Eats works from the driver’s side, you can check out this post: Uber Eats Driver: Delivering For Uber Eats.

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Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
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Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
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Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
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For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
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More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

SoFi Money ($325) – SoFi Money is a free checking account from SoFi. They’re currently offering a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi account with a referral link and deposit $10. You can also make an additional $300 as well if you complete a direct deposit. This is a good bank that is also 100% free, so you won’t have to worry about managing this account. Here’s a post I wrote with instructions on how to earn your SoFi Money bonus: SoFi Money Referral Bonus: Step By Step Guide.
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Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
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US Bank Business ($800) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
Fifth Third Bank ($200) – This offer is limited to customers in the following states: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia, and South Carolina. If you don’t live in one of those states, you won’t be able to open an account online but you can still open an account in-branch if you happen to be visiting a city that has a branch. This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, especially since there are plenty of data points showing what will trigger the direct deposit requirement. In addition, you can open the Fifth Third Momentum Checking bank account, which comes with no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. Read my guide on this bonus here.
GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
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Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $800 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.