Instacart is America’s foremost grocery and other essentials delivery company, thus making the company a large employer of labor in the United States and Canada.
Launched in 2012, Instacart has its headquarters located in San Francisco, California. From there, the company oversees the affairs and operation of the company all over America and Canada.
Currently, Instacart has over 10,000 employees from the U.S. and Canada, all of whom they pay every week. The company also has over 10 million customers who make use of its grocery and alcohol delivery services across Canada and the United States.
When Does Instacart Pay?
Instacart pays its shoppers every Wednesday, this payment being the wages for the previous week’s work plus tips. Instacart pays its shoppers every Wednesday, for the work done between Monday and Sunday of the previous week. Payment is often done via direct deposit, with Stripe as its default payment method.
However, if you need instant cash right away, Instant Cashout is an option that is available to shoppers.
This feature allows shoppers to get paid their wages immediately, without having to wait till the following Wednesday to get paid.
However, while you may make use of this Instant Cashout feature as often as you like, making use of the feature attracts a $0.50 transaction fee that is charged separately for every transaction made.
How Long After I Deliver Instacart Do I Get Paid?
Instacart does not pay its shoppers after every delivery they make. Instead, Instacart pays every week on Wednesdays for every delivery that was made by a particular shopper from Monday to Sunday of the previous week.
If you are an In-store worker, Instacart pays hourly, which means that you only get paid for the hours you worked for during the previous week.
If you however cannot wait until the following Wednesday to get paid, one of the perks of being an Instacart shopper is that you can also get paid anytime you want!
You can decide to withdraw your earnings instantly, making use of the “Instant Cashout” feature that is readily available to shoppers.
This basically takes about 30 minutes after your request has been made to get deposited into your account.
Making use of this Instant Cashout feature however, attracts a transaction fee of $0.50 for every such transaction made.
Instacart pays its workers every Wednesday making use of Stripe as its default payment method, however, when you get your money depends on the arrangement that is made. For example, if you prefer to get paid using direct deposit, the time you receive notification of getting paid may vary depending on your location. Basically the fund will be paid on Wednesday morning as usual, however, you may not get the payment until Thursday or until Friday morning.
For shoppers that prefer to be paid by mail cheque also, payment is released every Wednesday morning just as it is for other payment methods.
However, this method is far slower than the other available payment methods.
This is because the shopper has to wait until the cheque is delivered by the postal service, and this often takes time, especially during the festive seasons when a lot of parcels are being mailed via the postal service.
Your cheque may inadvertently enter a backlog, or get lost in the mail altogether. It is generally not advisable to make use of this payment method in order to avoid delayed payments.
When Does Instacart Pay Tips?
Basically, Instacart pays you your tips alongside your weekly wages on every Wednesday. However, you can also get paid instantaneously if you make use of the “Instant Cashout ” feature that is available to shoppers.
While tipping is not exactly mandatory when you get a service delivered to you, it has somehow become a norm in American society. It is seen as good etiquette to leave a tip when an excellent or satisfactory service has been delivered to you.
Instacart recommends leaving a 5% tip for your shopper if you intend to leave them any tip at all. To put this in context, if your grocery order sums up to a total of $100, and you intend to leave a tip, the proportionate tip to leave your shopper will be just about $5 which is just 5% of your total order.
You can also leave an amount that exceeds this percentage, as there is no limit as to the amount you can leave your shopper as a tip if they have delivered you an outstanding service, and you feel like they are well deserving of it.
You can decide to tip your shopper using cash, or you may decide to leave your shopper a tip on the Instacart app. Such a tip made on the app will be visible to the shopper before accepting your delivery. You can also alter such a tip within 24 hours after tipping your shopper. However, to avoid your account getting deactivated, a cogent reason must be provided for canceling or altering such a tip. This is done in order to avoid tip-baiting.
How Much Does Instacart Pay Per Hour?
Instacart payment depends on the type of shopper you are. Basically, at Instacart, there are two types of shoppers, the in-store shoppers, as well as the full service shopper.
In-store shoppers are Instacart employees, whose job is to stay in stores, and help customers shop for their groceries, staging it and packing them up for delivery.
They are basically part-time workers who work on a rotated shift schedule and may be required to work for up to 29 hours a week on average.
Being an in-store shopper allows you to be able to schedule your own work hours, while also making you eligible for paid time off.
There is also a guarantee of constant work.
The average per hour rate of an In-store shopper is about $15 per hour, which may rise up to about $20 per hour depending on the location of the city.
The full service shopper on the other hand, are independent contractors whose job is to shop and deliver grocery orders to their customers.
This type of shopper is afforded a lot of leeway and flexibility, which includes being able to select which batches they would like to shop, and also no limit being attached to the number of batches they can make.
A full service shopper does not earn wages per hour, unlike the in-store shoppers. A full service shopper is paid per delivery made, which means, if he makes about the deliveries within an hour, he gets paid for all the three deliveries made.
A full service shopper does not however have a guarantee of constant work being available unlike the in-store shopper.
Also, while a full service worker may make up to $15 per hour before tips are added, or up to $25 an hour before tips are added depending on your location or your city, he covers the shopping expenses himself, which includes; gas fee, vehicle insurance, vehicle maintenance, taxes amongst others.
Therefore, if you’re seeking to work at Instacart, you should carry out proper research to determine what type of shopper you would like to be and which suits you best.
What Time Does Instacart Pay On Wednesdays?
Instacart essentially pays its workers their previous week wages every Wednesday morning.
However, the time you receive your payment may vary from place to place, mainly dependent on the payment method you prefer to get paid with. i.e. While cheques may take longer to get delivered, making use of a digital payment platform or direct deposit is often faster.
Want to learn more about Instacart? Check out our related posts to learn if Instacart delivers cigarettes, and can you work for Shipt and Instacart?
Conclusion…
Whether you are a full service worker or an in-store worker, working at Instacart still has its perks.
For in-store workers, perks include; eligibility for paternity or maternity leave, adequate retirement plan, you get to decide your on and off days yourself, you can also attend company social outings, paid holidays amongst other perks.
As a full service worker, you’re entitled to select your own work hours by yourself. Full service workers are actually not employed by Instacart.
Instead, they are independent contractors who shop for groceries when an order is made, and deliver it to the customer who placed the order as a part time gig.
Instacart does not provide any special type of perks for this category of their workers, however, any tip received from a customer after a delivery has been made belongs to the shopper.
In conclusion, if you’re planning to work at Instacart, you would have to carry out proper research to figure out which of the categories of worker you would like to be, and which suits you best.