Gig economy requires modern flexible payment methods, something that DoorDash aims to provide with a new stablecoins infrastructure.
DoorDash, a food delivery and local commerce platform, is collaborating with Stripe-backed blockchain company Tempo to launch stablecoin-powered payment options for its 8 million “Dasher” fleet.
Tempo blockchain payments network supports not only domestic but also cross-border disbursements, which is essential for the delivery company that operates in over 40 countries across several continents.
Main benefits of stablecoin payouts over traditional fiat infrastructure for cross-border settings are their speed and lower cost. While traditional bank transfers (like SWIFT) take away around 3-6.5% of transaction cost in fees and FX markups, stablecoin transfers typically cost just a few cents in network fees or 0.1–0.3% to settle. Therefore, receiving stablecoin salaries might save gig workers and companies anywhere between 40% and 85% of the associated costs. Besides, they are providing a near-instant alternative to a several-days-long legacy payout process.
Globally, around 35% of freelancers and cross-border merchants’ income is distributed in stablecoins, finds a joint study of BVNK, YouGov, Coinbase, and Artemis. Even if they cash out fiat, stablecoin infrastructure may be used for transfer in the first place. Major payment companies (e.g. Visa Direct) offer this functionality to gig economy workers and creators.
For DoorDash, which deals with frequent, small-value payouts to people who may deliver a service once a month, cost-efficiency and speed of such transfers are critical. Therefore, next to its earlier flexible payment options like BNPL, the platform is now undergoing a more substantial shift, replacing parts of its traditional rails with blockchain-based disbursement.
Choosing Tempo as a dedicated payments rail adds credibility to a potentially risky DoorDash stablecoin move. First of all, this blockchain startup is backed by a trusted fintech brand, Stripe. Most recently, Visa has launched a validator node on the Tempo blockchain as well, helping operate the network and adding it some value among institutions. Besides, the blockchain is future-proof, already readying infrastructure for the upcoming agentic commerce.
