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There are a few absolutes in the gig economy, and even fewer that are exclusive to Instacart, in this case one of the most absolute things on Instacart is that almost every order requires the Instacart Payment Card.
So in this article, We are talking about:
EVERYTHING You MUST Know about the Instacart Payment Card
What they tell you vs how it ACTUALLY is
Everything in between!
Disclaimer: The content of this article does not contain and is never intended to be legal, business, financial, tax, or health advice of any kind, This article is for entertainment purposes only. It is advised that you conduct your own research and consult with qualified professionals before applying anything you find online.
I also want to be clear that everything we are going to go over is very market dependent, and what applies to me and my market may not apply to you.
Getting an Instacart payment card is simple. While new shoppers receive their Instacart payment card 5-7 business days after completing the in-app verification steps, existing shoppers can order a new one at any time by visiting the Account (person icon) in the app.
Being in the gig economy long enough and you start to become surprised when things become super simplistic. A bunch of gig apps that have shopping orders have cards but this may be the most mundane.
Doordash has the “Red Card”, UberEats has the “Plus Card”, and Instacart just has the “payment card”. Sorry, I just think that is kind of lazy. An irrelevant detail to be sure, but lazy.
Getting your First Instacart Payment Card
Complete the in-app verification steps, go to your Instacart Shopper app dashboard, then tap Start under Pick up & activate your Instacart payment card. When you finish placing your payment card order, we ship it to your address. It takes about 5-7 business days to deliver the card.
After you receive your card, you need to activate it.
In most cases they send it quickly for new people. They want to get you onboard as quickly as possible!
Ordering a Replacement Instacart Payment Card
Go to the Account icon of your app.
Tap Instacart Payment Card.
Tap Order new card.
Confirm your mailing address.
We ship your payment card as fast as possible. It takes anywhere from 5 to 7 days for the card to arrive at your pickup location or address.
People have reported that they had to place an order multiple times in order to receive it, but once you get it, you are good to go.
I had to order my one replacement card twice, and what sucks about that is that waiting that long kind of takes the wind out of your sails, like after not being a shopper for a few weeks and probably working other apps, I might think about not coming back on.
Maybe that is the point, like they only want quality shoppers that fit their definition of quality but that will discourage them as well. I certainly know it did for me when I lost my card for a few weeks.
Pickup Locations for Payment Cards
Only available in select cities, card pickup locations let you get your payment cards as fast as possible.
To see if there’s a pickup location near you—
Log into the Instacart Shopper app.
Tap the Account icon.
Tap My Payment Card.
Tap Register a New Payment Card.
Scroll down to Pick it up to see a map with recommended card pickup locations. If you don’t see any, then have the card shipped to your address.
Okay I did some research on this, and honestly I don’t know where these locations may be. I looked for a while and a lot of people claim online that they don’t have any in their area either.
I think this is similar to how a lot of gig apps actually had local offices for a while and then suddenly disappeared after the COVID Pandemic.
From what I am reading on an Instacart Reddit, if your area has In-Store Shoppers (a W2 Position for workers only there to fulfill shop only orders), it is likely you can potentially pick up your payment card.
Although, I cannot confirm that for certain.
Activating your Instacart payment card
This isn’t very surprising but there is a different sequence of events depending on if it is your first card or a replacement card.
It’s my first payment card
On the app dashboard, find Set up your Instacart Payment Card and tap Start.
Tap Next: Enter Card Info.
Enter the 16-digit number on the front of the card.
Tap Next: Verify Card.
Enter the 3-digit number on the back of the card.
Tap Next: Confirm.
It’s a replacement payment card
Go to the app menu and find the Account icon.
Tap My Payment Card.
Tap Activate new card.
Enter the 16-digit number on the front of the card.
Tap Next.
Enter the 3-digit number on the back of the card.
It is almost never a problem reactivating a card but it can be a challenge getting a new card.
Digital Payment Card
Digital payment cards are prepaid and will automatically process the exact amount needed to pay for the order. You won’t have to pay for digital payment card purchases out of pocket or get reimbursed. To checkout with a digital payment card—
After shopping the order items, start the usual checkout process.
Tap Buy with G Pay button for Android phones or Buy with Apple Pay for iPhones. This opens your Google/Apple Wallet.
Hold your phone near the card reader to process the payment.
Go back to the Instacart Shopper app and continue the shopping process.
I almost never use a digital payment card, they made it clear when you first get started that you will get more orders if you have a physical card and I just never used the digital card.
Also, I was more of a physical card guy myself so that may also be a thing.
How to use the Instacart Payment Card
The Instacart payment card can be used as a debit or credit card. If you need to use the payment card as a debit card, refer to the 4-digit PIN on-screen in your Instacart Shopper app. If declined, double-check the app for the correct PIN. You will see a new PIN for each new batch you shop.
The Instacart payment card only works if you’re on an active batch.
It used to be the same PIN over and over, but they changed that. Also, it really is pretty self explanatory, if you used the app to find all your items and followed the instructions, you can do this.
Payment Card Declined
Always have your payment card with you or use your virtual card at participating retailers. If your Instacart payment card declines, contact Instacart Customer Experience.
If you use personal funds, you can submit a reimbursement request.
I actually made a video about this. The link is going to be in the description, feel free to check that out.
To make sure your payment card doesn’t decline—
Update the price in-app if you replace an item.
Add all weights together in-app for packaged meat items.
Scan the orders in the order that you shop them (ex. scan order A first, then order B, etc.)
Shop at the suggested warehouse location.
I stick to low item count orders for this very reason and usually focus more on refunds for the same reason. If it is going to be more problematic to find suitable replacements that won’t piss off the platform, then it isn’t worth it.
That said, I rarely have that issue at all but I can imagine how a shopper that prioritizes shopping orders would have more of a challenge with it.
Payment Card Delivery Issues
I gave the incorrect mailing address
If you already ordered a payment card to the wrong address, reach out to Instacart Customer Experience for help. We’ll correct the issue and make sure you receive a payment card within 5-7 days.
Contact Instacart Customer Experience in the Shopper app with additional issues.
I can definitely see this happening if you were an Instacart shopper and you moved someplace and you never had to change your address. Just remember to double check if they do send it there or have your mail forwarded for a bit in case you do forget.
My Card Hasn’t Arrived within 5-7 days
Though it’s rare, payment cards can sometimes take longer than 5-7 days to arrive. If your card hasn’t arrived in 7 days, reach out to Instacart Customer Experience in the app for more information.
To be clear, it isn’t rare, I have had to ask multiple times and countless others have had to do the same.
Lost or Stolen Payment Card
If your payment card is lost or stolen, please contact Instacart Customer Experience.
I had to do this mid shop and it was EMBARRASSING, but they were very accommodating.
Order a Backup Card
If you want to avoid wait times for how long it will take to get a new card, what you can do is order a backup card in the meantime:
Go to your Account tab in your Shopper App
Tap Instacart Payment Card
Tap Physical Card
Tap Order New Card
Confirm Your Address
They will send you a card that should arrive in 5-12 business days, and will not deactivate your old card.
However, you won’t be able to do that more than once so you will only have 1 back up.
Don’t Put Up Your Money
The point about reimbursements was touched on earlier and if you want to take that route, go for it. That said, I have heard stories and have had challenges myself with other platforms to attempt to allow this again.
It’s amazing how they are quick to have you use your money, but gripping their money like it is their last breath. Either way, don’t let them pull this with you.
Don’t be that Guy
Now some of you may have thought about the idea of using the payment card to sneak in a couple of extra snacks and items more than once and casually forget to mention that to your customer or Instacart.
Afterall, they don’t get to see the receipt anyway and what is a snickers bar in the grand scheme of things. People have been deactivated for less and this is straight fraud, so don’t be that guy.
Receipt Scanning Apps
Not really the topic, but another way people think of to make a couple of extra bucks is to use receipt scanning apps to make a couple of extra bucks on the shopping they are doing for other people, it isn’t as good as it sounds.
Sometimes these apps end up clashing with each other and people also link their accounts to instacart to gain the points that way, not to mention how it goes against TOS, so seriously it isn’t worth it.
Keep All Your Cards in One Place
So if you have a well diversified gig portfolio you probably have a few of these cards for a few different apps. I would keep all these cards in one place and try not to mix them up with your normal cards for yourself.
I almost paid for someone else’s order because my card looked similar to one of my gig app cards multiple times, and trust me you don’t want to PRAY that Instacart pays the reimbursement here.
That said, if you don’t have a bunch of cards it can mean one of two things. You don’t like to shop and deliver orders on other apps, which is confusing on why you are here, or you are not properly diversifying your gig portfolio.
If you are looking for a way to properly diversify your gig portfolio, you can always utilize the information available in the Driven Wyld Discord Server.
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If you would like to add some other perspective to How the Instacart Payment Card Works, feel free to email me: drivenwyld@gmail.com and who knows? Maybe your email or perspective and be featured in a post as well!
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