Gig economy

Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to buy Postmates Inc. for $2.65 billion to expand in food delivery after the coronavirus pandemic cratered demand for ride-hailing, its main business, and an earlier attempt to acquire Grubhub foundered.

Grab Holdings Inc., Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giant, is expanding delivery services from convenience stores and supermarkets across 50 cities in the region.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way many industries conduct business — and that's especially true of the legal cannabis industry, which was already struggling in the U.S. to find the best way to handle noncash payments.

People who order groceries for delivery may be using digital payments or a plastic card to pay for their food, but the person picking up the groceries may be making a separate payment at the point of pickup — and in the process, influencing the global shift toward contactless payments.

As the coronavirus crisis fuels even stronger demands for early earned wage access, Ceridian seeks to rise above the competition with its own on-demand digital wallet and prepaid Mastercard.

Oxygen helps customers obtain business licenses and separate their personal and business lives. Its says its services will be in demand as the pandemic accelerates a shift away from traditional jobs.

The sharing economy faces its first true crisis, but the payment companies that enable nontraditional payrolls say that the best way to fuel the recovery is to simply be more creative in how people get paid.

PayPal subsidiary iZettle is working with U.K. urban delivery platform Stuart to offer small businesses remote payment and delivery services during the coronavirus crisis.

With more people sheltering at home and grocery stores limiting access, Domino's is seeing a surge in demand for its pizza — and a need to pay delivery drivers their tips and wages after each shift at a time when the credit card orders outpace the cash on hand at each store.

Grab Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Anthony Tan warned that the coronavirus is creating significant challenges for the Southeast Asian ride-hailing startup that will require “tough decisions” about cutting costs and managing capital.

The gig economy flourished in part for its ability to get timely payments to workers. Uber and Lyft, for example, offer express payments to drivers who need to use those funds to refill their gas tanks before picking up the next rider. But these payment innovations mean very little when there isn't sufficient money flowing into the system.

Cash use will suffer because of this outbreak, and there are factors other than germs contributing to this trend. A growing work-from-home workforce will funnel more shoppers into digital channels, including ones they may have never tried before.

The increase in quarantined customers has forced food delivery companies to balance a potential boom in orders alongside the risk of spreading sickness to both customers and drivers.

Digital financial technology provider Wirecard AG is partnering with Grab to process transactions from the GrabPay e-wallet in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.

Grab Holdings Inc. closed offices in Singapore and Thailand for five days of cleaning after a Singapore-based employee, who previously visited the Bangkok office, tested positive for the coronavirus.

Companies that give employees early access to earned pay don't want to be lumped in with payday lenders, so they are putting a new spin on their pitch: It's a tool to lure and retain valuable workers.

Immediate payments through an existing payments platform means firms can pay quickly, satisfying the expectations of gig workers who are increasingly important to the company’s functions.

BBVA and venture capitalist Anthemis Group are providing seed funds to U.K. fintech Wollit that will offer a subscription-based cash flow product for gig economy workers.

The International growth of the gig economy requires hyper-local solutions, a challenge many fail to appreciate. This isn’t just in how a company articulates its value proposition locally.

Global fintech Ebanx is partnering with Uber to enable consumers in Brazil to pay for the ride-sharing service by topping up their Uber Cash balance with the country's voucher-based payment system.