Postmates Unveils New Measures to Ease Burden on Merchants, Couriers as Part of COVID-19 Response

SAN FRANCISCO, March 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Postmates announced today that it will be offering additional resources for its fleet and merchants to address the impact the COVID-19, novel coronavirus has had in these communities. For its delivery fleet, Postmates has created a fund that will credit Postmates for the costs of doctors appointments and medical expenses related to COVID-19’s impact in over 22 states. For merchants, Postmates will waive restaurant commission fees for new merchants in impacted markets, giving small business owners access to on-demand delivery at no additional cost. Both programs will launch this week.

With over half of Americans unable to afford a $400 unexpected expense, the Postmates Fleet Relief Fund will enable couriers to take proactive and preventive personal health care steps by covering costs for medical check-ups, regardless of whether the courier has been diagnosed or quarantined. The fund builds on steps taken by the company over the past several weeks such as issuing CDC guidance to the fleet, and the creation of a new feature that enables non-contact dropoff, inside the app.

• Members of the Postmates fleet who have made at least one delivery in: Wash., Ore., Calif., Nev., Utah, Colo., Ariz., Texas, Neb., Wis., Ill., Ind., Fla., Ga., Tenn., N.C., D.C., Penn., N.Y., Maine, Mass., and N.J. in the last two weeks will be eligible for a credit from the emergency relief fund, which can be deposited towards the Postmates health savings vehicle (powered by Starship).
• Any Postmate not registered with this health account, but interested in the emergency relief credit, may sign up for the Postmates health savings vehicle and be eligible for the stipend to cover needed expenses, irrespective of a diagnosis or quarantine. Individuals can enroll in health savings vehicles (powered by Starship) which can be found under the health section of the Postmates Fleet Flexible Toolkit https://fleet.postmates.com/flexible-toolkit/.

Postmates is also unveiling a pilot program for small businesses that want to use the platform during a time where most brick and mortar business owners are seeing a decline in sales and customer foot traffic. The pilot program will temporarily waive commission fees for businesses operating in San Francisco that sign-on with the Postmates platform.

• This Small Business Relief Pilot will waive all commission fees for businesses that are not currently delivering on the platform and operate in the City of San Francisco, but want to expand into on-demand delivery to help drive revenue as on-premise dining is impacted.
• Any interested merchants can visit https://postmates.com/partner to establish an account, and start delivering without any additional cost during this pilot. And as always the Postmates platform enables business owners to set their own menu prices.
• We will monitor other cities carefully to potentially evolve the scope of this pilot beyond San Francisco.

“Nationally, one in four private sector employees lack access to any sick leave at all. While our ongoing campaigns in California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois seek to modernize 20th century laws to fit 21st century work for independent workers, now is the time to put aside the politics of the gig economy and work with all stakeholders to develop creative and meaningful emergency support for frontline workers who may be exposed — it’s the right thing to do,” said Vikrum Aiyer, Vice President of Public Policy for Postmates. “We know that two thirds of the individuals that carry out deliveries through the Postmates app have health care, but we want to make sure anyone can afford preventative expenses.”

“Operating a storefront in a major city like San Francisco isn’t cheap. And if customers are staying home because they’re afraid of getting sick, or because their workplaces are asking them to, then brick-and-mortar businesses are really going to suffer,” said Laurie Thomas, Acting Executive Director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association. “News of Postmates lifting its delivery fees for the time being is a compelling example of how delivery platforms can engage with their merchant partners to respond in real-time to market changes, and ultimately support the local smaller restaurants who need it.”

As part of our ongoing response to COVID-19, Postmates continues to work with all jurisdictions of government, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to form a holistic approach to our response. We will continue to monitor all guidance from the Center for Disease Control and other government experts to continue to form a response in line with the needs of the communities in which we operate.

ABOUT POSTMATES
Postmates is a leader in on-demand food delivery. The platform gives customers access to the most selection of merchants in the US with more than 600,000 restaurants and retailers available for delivery and pickup, many of which are exclusive to Postmates. The market leader in Los Angeles and markets across the southwest, Postmates covers 80% of US households, across all 50 states. Customers can get free delivery on all merchants by joining Postmates Unlimited, the industry’s first subscription service. Learn more or start a delivery by downloading the app or visiting www.postmates.com.

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SOURCE Postmates