When you’re currently driving for DoorDash, you have a great opportunity to earn extra money, all while setting a flexible schedule for yourself, earning tips, and enjoying all the other perks that come with being an independent contractor.
You may have wondered, however, if there’s a way for you to get paid faster than the standard direct deposit.
After all, things come up, and sometimes you need your money sooner than you’re scheduled to get paid.
If you’ve worked as a Lyft or Uber driver, you may have used or heard of the Instant Pay or Express Pay options, which both allow drivers to cash out their earnings instantly.
Does DoorDash have a similar option?
In July 2018, DoorDash introduced Fast Pay, which allows dashers to receive their earnings instantly.
In this post, we’re going to take a look at how the Fast Pay program works and how you can set it up.
We’ll also answer some common questions that dashers have about using Fast Pay.
Table Of Contents
What Is Fast Pay?
Fast Pay solves a problem that has plagued workers since time immemorial: how do you bridge the gap between when you get paid and when you need your money?
It would be great if payday aligned with when your bills were due, but this isn’t always the case.
Traditionally, you have to turn to exploitative payday loan companies, who charge high fees and interest rates in exchange for advances on earnings. Nowadays, however, there are better options.
Delivery companies like DoorDash have recognized that they can do a great service to their contractors by offering their own form of earning advances (without the astronomical interest rates).
This doesn’t mean DoorDash is completely altruistic in offering Fast Pay to dashers. They do charge a $1.99 fee for the service.
Compared to the interest rates and fees for payday loan companies, however, this fee is minuscule.
When you use Fast Pay, DoorDash transfers your earnings instantly. This is much quicker than the standard pay schedule, in which payments are sent after midnight PST each Sunday.
Even on this standard schedule, it can take a few days for the funds to be available in your bank account.
Knowing this, you can see just how much faster Fast Pay is (and why DoorDash charges a fee).
Related: how much do DoorDash drivers make?
How Do You Use Fast Pay?
Setting up Fast Pay is simple. To start, you’ll need to meet the following criteria:
- Be in a U.S. market (Canadian dashers can use DailyPay, which is a similar service)
- Have an active dasher account
- Have completed at least 25 lifetime deliveries
- Have been on the DoorDash platform for two weeks
As long as you meet these requirements, you can use Fast Pay.
To set it up, follow these steps:
- Visit the Earnings section of your app and click the “Set Up Fast Pay” banner.
- Ensure your Direct Deposit is linked to your personal bank account, and then click “Set up Fast Pay” again.
- From there, enter the requested details for your debit card.
You’ll be able to use Fast Pay as soon as you’ve signed up. You can access Fast Pay within the “Earnings” section of the DoorDash app.
To transfer your earnings, click on the “Use Fast Pay” banner.
Doordash Fast Pay FAQ
Now that you understand what Fast Pay is and how to use it, let’s look at some common questions that dashers have about this feature.
Since DoorDash only launched it back in July 2018, it’s understandable to have some questions about it.
1. When will the Fast Pay funds be available in my bank account?
This is a tricky question.
DoorDash transfers the money instantly, but when it appears in your bank account depends on how quickly your bank processes incoming payments.
It could be a few days before the funds are fully available to use in your debit card account.
Particularly if this is your first time using Fast Pay, your bank might put a hold on it to review the transaction.
2. How will I know when the Fast Pay funds have transferred?
For each completed Fast Pay transaction, DoorDash will send you a confirmation email.
This email will show the amount of the transfer and when it occurred.
3. Where is Fast Pay available?
Fast Pay is available to all dashers in the U.S. who meet the requirements we outlined in the previous section.
There are no restrictions for Fast Pay based on your city.
4. Can I use a prepaid card or credit card for Fast Pay?
You must have a debit card account to use Fast Pay.
Other types of cards are not eligible for the program.
5. How often can I cash out my earnings using Fast Pay?
You can cash out your earnings up to once per day, at any time you like (even on weekends).
However, do note that some banks limit the number of debit card transactions per day for security reasons.
If you have a lot of other transactions in one day, then Fast Pay may not work.
This has nothing to do with DoorDash, so be sure to speak to your bank if you’re having any issues receiving Fast Pay transfers.
6. Can I cancel Fast Pay transfers?
No, you cannot.
Once you’ve initiated the transfer, it will proceed.
Therefore, be sure that you want to transfer your earnings before you do so.
7. Why is my available balance $0?
Any earnings that you don’t transfer by Sunday at 11:59:59 p.m. (PST) will be deposited to your checking account using the regular weekly payment.
This will be available in your bank account 2–3 business days later.
8. I’m a Canadian dasher. When is Fast Pay coming to Canada?
Fast Pay is only available in the U.S. currently, but Canadian dashers have access to a similar program called DailyPay.
Note that this is a third-party contractor working with DoorDash to provide instant payments to Canadian dashers.
To learn more, consult the DailyPay information page on the DoorDash website.
9. Do other food delivery apps offer a service similar to Fast Pay?
Currently, other food delivery services such as Grubhub, Postmates, and Instacart do not offer any kind of instant payments to drivers.
Uber Eats does offer Instant Pay (just as with payments for taking Uber rides). Caviar also offers an instant payment option using the Cash App.
Fast Pay could be a compelling reason to drive for DoorDash over other apps.
However, the fact that Uber Eats and Caviar also offer similar options somewhat lessens this advantage.
10. How can I get help with problems related to Fast Pay?
For assistance with Fast Pay (and all other questions related to working for DoorDash), you should contact DoorDash driver support.
Get Your Money When You Need It
Now that you’ve read this guide, you should have an understanding of how DoorDash Fast Pay works, as well as how to use it.
It’s a powerful tool for you as a driver: For just a small fee, you can have instant access to the money you’ve earned.
This is a major advance compared to the scammy payday loan companies you would have had to use in the past.
We hope that more food delivery and other gig economy apps will embrace a similar model, as doing so is financially beneficial to both drivers and companies.
It would seem that DD Fast Cash happens on the same day, even the same minute you cash out. However, there appears to be N unwritten rule in the amount allowed for this. Fir 2 weeks in a row I cashed out over $500 and it takes 2 business days to deposit. It shows posted as the day after you do it but does not hit your bank acct until the next day. Ex: cashed out $577 on Fri June 7 at 730pm, did not post until next day unlike ALL previous cash outs. Is this a DD Fast Cash policy? I asked my bank about it pending deposit and it was not there so it is not my banks issue, it is DD’s. This now happening 2x in a row has caused me serious financial issues (fees, stress) due to this unwritten policy.
Last week I was able to withdrawl my earnings with no issue from the previos days. Now today I go try and use fast day for the earnings I made Monday and Tuesday. But the fast pay button has dissappeard. DD told me I have to wait till next week for my money to deposit into my account. She made it seem like fast pay works for the earnings you just earned that day. Does not make sense to me because last week I was able to pull out all my money on Thursday, from the earnings I made Monday through Wednesday plus Thursday. Now that I only dashed Monday and Tuesday and its Thursday. I should be able to to use fast pay. Everytime I call DD there is always a language barrier. Have you had similar issues?
I’m in the PNW. I signed up three weeks ago. It has never worked at all, and I knew it said it takes seven days to start. It will say my total amount that I’ve made and when you click the fast pay button, the total is zero. No way to type in your amount you want transferred either. I thought that might be something I had to do. Wish Brett, the Author, would investigate this. I just wanted to try it for fun, but those really needing their $$, this would be hard! And no one to really ask in support! They are reading a script and just say, “you’ll get your funds on your regular payday,” which doesn’t help!!!🤨
Wish
In fact there is a $500 limit on transferring fast pay but the problem is and doordash is in Federal trade commission trouble for doing this also Federal reserve trouble they are supposed to transmit the five if you have $577 for instance, you’re supposed to receive the $500 limit immediately the $77 over that $500 is delayed for one Business Bank day, Saturday and Sunday will appear on Tuesday Friday will appear on Monday the Business Bank day after Friday is Monday the Business Bank day after Saturday or Sunday is always Tuesday, keep that in mind.