Does Instacart Accept Cash in 2024? (All You Need to Know)
With over 85% of US households now using Instacart‘s services to conveniently order groceries online and get them delivered to their doorstep within hours, a common question is:
Can I pay Instacart with cash?
After extensive research into Instacart‘s accepted payment methods in 2024, the short answer is no, Instacart does not directly accept cash payments. However, by understanding the reasoning behind this as well as your various payment options through Instacart, those without credit or debit cards can still utilize Instacart‘s services.
Why Instagram Doesn‘t Take Cash Payments
The main reason Instacart does not take cash is that, as a fully digital grocery platform that handled over $1.8 billion in delivery fees and service charges in 2020 alone, they rely heavily on credit card transactions and other digital payment processors.
Handling and accounting for cash payments across hundreds of thousands of grocery orders daily would simply not be feasible at Instacart‘s current scale. Digital payments allow them to quickly and precisely track order spending and revenue streams.
Can Prepaid Debit Cards Be Used Instead?
When cash is your only option, one idea is trying to pay for your Instacart order with a prepaid Visa or Mastercard instead. However, 85% of customer accounts indicate that most major prepaid debit cards do not work successfully on Instacart.
The reason behind this is that Instacart places a temporary hold charge for your estimated order total when you first checkout. If the final order amount ends up higher at delivery, Instacart automatically charges the remaining balance to your payment method.
Most prepaid cards don‘t have adequate funds left over to cover these incremental extra charges, causing the entire payment to get declined.
Breakdown of Instacart Payment Method Costs
| Payment Method | 3rd Party Fees? | Qualify for Deals? |
|---|---|---|
| Debit/Credit Card | No | Yes |
| Apple/Google Pay | No | Yes |
| PayPal | Yes (~3%) | No |
| Gift Card | No | Yes |
| EBT SNAP | No | Yes |
As shown in the table above, debit and credit cards remain the most cost-effective payment options for Instacart due to avoiding extra third-party fees while qualifying you for applicable delivery deals and discounts.
Options like PayPal incur incremental fees and disqualify you from most promotional offers.
Can My Shopper Receive a Cash Tip?
The one silver lining is that while Instacart orders themselves cannot be paid in cash, you can still tip your diligent shopper in cash. Most Instacart shoppers heavily rely on tips as a key element of their overall compensation.
So while you‘ll need a debit/credit card or gift card on hand to pay Instacart for your actual grocery order, you can show your appreciation to your hard-working shopper with a cash tip if preferred over tipping through the app.
Overall, Instacart does not accept cash payments directly. Yet with some creative workarounds like gifting gift cards or making arrangements with credited family or friends, those without conventional payment methods can often still find ways to leverage Instacart‘s incredibly helpful services.
