Your Complete Guide to the Dasher Direct Card
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In 2020, DoorDash was responsible for the fulfillment of 45% of food delivery orders. This was due, in part, to the pandemic and government orders telling everyone to stay at home and only go out only if it was necessary.
Restaurants were prohibited from having in-person dining. Many restaurants switched entirely to food delivery services to fill online orders and DoorDash drivers were busier than ever.
For gig workers and side hustlers who work as independent contractors for delivery companies like DoorDash, getting paid quickly and having access to their money is important. That's why DoorDash created the DasherDirect Card.
But what is the Dasher Direct Card? How does it work? And what are its benefits and drawbacks?
If you're interested in discovering more about the Dasher Direct card, keep reading for more information.
DoorDash began implementing the Dasher Direct card in 2020 with limited availability and via invite-only. At the start of February 2021, the DasherDirect card became more widely available across the nation.
The DasherDirect card is only available to those who actively work for DoorDash in the United States. It is a prepaid card that makes it easier for DoorDash workers to get paid faster and have access to their money when they need it. It is an alternative to DoorDash's Fast Pay service.
In essence, DasherDirect serves as a way to get direct deposits from DoorDash even if you don't have a primary bank account set up. Dash payments and tips are sent to the prepaid card.
Furthermore, the Doordash card enables you to participate in the Doordash cash advance program and receive your funds right away.
Here are 12 things you should know about the Dasher Direct Card.
While the Dasher Direct card is offered through DoorDash, it still requires you to apply for the card first. Here's how you do it.
The application will require you to be at least 18 years of age. You will also need to supply a residential U.S. address. You must have a valid Social Security number and a U.S. government-issued driver's license with your full name.
Most everyone who applies for the Dasher Direct card is accepted as long as they meet the requirements above. When you are approved for the card, you should receive an email upon approval.
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When you have received your approval for the Dasher Direct card, you will need to download another app that is separate from the DoorDash app.
In the Apple App Store for iPhone, you will need to search for DasherDirect by Payfare. In the Google Play Store for Android phones, you need to search DasherDirect, by Payfare.
In the DasherDirect app, you will find your payment history for DoorDASH. DasherDirect and Fast Pay cannot be used together. Once you initiate the DasherDirect card, your payments will only process through DasherDirect.
The only way to use Fast Pay again is to go into the app and go to the Bank section on the Earnings screen and select the Switch Payout Account option.
Ordinarily, as a DoorDash worker, you could only get paid for your previous week's shifts the following Tuesday. Or you could pay a fee of $1.99 once per day to have their earnings transferred to your bank account with Fast Pay.
When you are a gig worker or side hustler, you work hard for your money. Even $1.99 fees can add up over time if you cash out multiple times per week. This can drain your hard-earned money faster than you realize.
The Dasher Direct card has no fees associated with it. The earnings from each day's DoorDash shift are transferred directly to the card fee-free. There are also no monthly maintenance fees associated with the Dasher Direct card.
You have instant access to your shift's earnings at the end of each completed Dash trip within 24 hours. Or in some cases, about 2-3 business days. According to DoorDash, there is a $1,000 maximum daily payout limit and anything over $1,000 will be added to the next payment cycle.
The Dasher Direct card is a Visa-branded prepaid debit card. Visa is one of the nation's top leading payment service providers. Visa is accepted in more locations all around the United States.
Having a Visa-backed card network means you will be able to use your Dasher Direct card in every place Visa is accepted, whether it is online or in-person.
There's no minimum balance required on the card either. As long as you have money in your DasherDirect account, you can use the card wherever and whenever you want just like any other standard prepaid card.
The Dasher Direct card comes with all of the functionality of a financial platform with a mobile banking app without requiring you to have a bank account. Through the DasherDirect app, DoorDash drivers can check their balances at any time from their mobile phones.
You can pay bills through the DasherDirect app and even set automatic payments for monthly expenses. And you can set up savings goals in the DasherDirect app.
The Dasher Direct card also offers the ability to transfer money if you do have a primary U.S. bank account or if you need to send it to someone else's bank account. Otherwise, it stays on your Dasher Direct card until you use it.
When you are approved for your Dasher Direct card, you will receive a physical card in the mail sent to your address on file. However, if you want to use your Dasher Direct card right away, you can access your card through the DasherDirect app.
The Dasher Direct card can be used for online bill paying, transfers, and any other purchase transactions not requiring a physical card to swipe or insert into a card reader. You can access your virtual card under the Manage Card option of the DasherDirect app.
You can also activate your physical card through this portal when it does arrive in the mail. Your Dasher Direct card should arrive within 10 days of your application approval.
The Dasher Direct card is issued through Stride Bank. Stride is an FDIC-insured bank. If Stride bank should happen to fail for any reason, you will get your money back.
Or if Stride Bank falls prey to fraud or theft, your money is protected. This is an automatic service provided through FDIC-insured banking institutions. You do not need to sign up for this service or pay any additional fees to get this benefit.
Because it is a prepaid debit card offered through Stride Bank and backed by Visa, you can use your Dasher Direct card at over 22,000 ATMs nationwide. There are no fees charged for using it as long as it is within the AllPoint ATM service network, otherwise, a $2.50 surcharge will be added for non-in-network ATMs.
One out of every 12 ATMs in the U.S. is an AllPoint provider. These ATMs are conveniently located inside major retailers such as Target, Walgreens, CVS, Circle K, and Safeway. You can use the DasherDirect app to search for ATMs near you.
Because DoorDash requires the use of a Dasher's own car to make deliveries, gas is an essential component of the job. The DasherDirect prepaid card awards 2% cashback on all fuel purchases made with the Dasher Direct card at any gas station.
From March 17 to April 30 your DasherDirect card will automatically get you 10% cash back on gas at any station, anywhere.
To put it into perspective, if you spent $130 on gas over the course of an average week and use the Dasher Direct card to pay for your fuel purchase, you can net an extra $2.60 in cashback. If you spend $500 on gas in a month, that's an extra $10 in cashback.
At gas stations where you pay at the pump, a minimum $75 to $99 charge may be on hold on your card if you are opting for a full tank of gas. This will go away after a day or two when the actual charge goes through.
This is a standard procedure for gas stations to make certain you have the money available to pay for the gas. So make sure you have that much on your card or it will decline as insufficient funds. Or just go into the station and tell the attendant the exact amount you want for your fuel purchase.
Take a loook at our guide to Upside App and how to find cheap gas
Your Dasher Direct card is ReadyLink enabled through Visa. This means that you can add cash deposits to your card, in addition to the third-party direct deposits from companies like DoorDash.
Use the Visa ReadyLink service available at major retail locations like 7-Eleven, Vons, Safeway, and Walmart.
DoorDash does not charge fees for adding cash to your Dasher Direct card. However, Visa does charge a $4.95 fee per reload on your card. There is a limit of a maximum of $1500 per day or 10 transactions.
DoorDash drivers have access to a red card when they deliver food. This card, that you get with the insulated bag when you receive the Activation kit, is only used for paying for orders when picking them up at the restaurant. The exact amount for that order automatically goes on the red card.
When DoorDash drivers arrive at the restaurant, the red card pays for the customer's order and deducts that amount from the card. Then the DoorDash driver takes the food to the customer. The red card serves as a proxy between pickup and delivery.
The Dasher Direct card is only used for processing payments to the drivers themselves upon the completion of their deliveries.
The Dasher Direct card is not a credit card, it is a prepaid card that works like a debit card. If you use the Dasher Direct card for a purchase, you must make certain that you have enough funds on your prepaid card to pay for the amount of your total purchase. If you attempt to use it for a partial payment, the card will decline as insufficient funds.
Again, as stated above, if you use your card to buy a full tank of gas at a fueling station, it will place a $75 to $99 hold charge on your card. If you do not have a minimum of $75 to $99 available on your card when purchasing your gas, your card will decline.
This charge will go away as soon as the purchase is complete but if you do not have that much on your card you should see the attendant inside to specify the desired amount.
While the Dasher Direct card does offer a multitude of benefits, there are many downfalls in using the card reported on Reddit and Twitter. The biggest one is the DasherDirect service crashing or going down frequently. This is causing issues with DoorDash workers not being able to access their money.
There also appear to be longer than normal holds put on purchases not processing through quickly enough or a delay in funds added to the card. As well as frozen accounts and returned purchases bought with the Dasher Direct card not crediting back to the prepaid card.
Dasher Direct Customer Service appears to have long wait times on hold when attempting to contact them while still leaving many users with no viable solution.
If you want to find an alternative for DasherDirect, there are other free business checking services with cashback debit cards. Nearside offers all of the same benefits of a Dasher Direct card with a higher cashback rate of up to 5%.
👀 Related Article: 7 Best Debit Cards too Earn Cash Back Rewards
Now that we have explained the Dasher Direct card and its benefits and drawbacks, we hope you have a better understanding of its uses. Whether you are a current DoorDash driver, have been a DoorDash driver in the past, or are considering becoming one, we are here for you.
At BestReferralDriver, we provide all the information you need about the many rideshare services, food delivery, and side hustle jobs in the gig worker industry.
Visit BestReferralDriver today and check out our other posts. Find out how you can get up to a $1,000 referral bonus if you sign up with DoorDash.
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