Case study
Scaling the operating system for local commerce, from restaurants to every aisle
A decade of issuing infrastructure powering DoorDash's evolution into a global local-commerce platform
- Launches
- 201620242025
- Marketplaces
- Issuing & processing
Seamless migration
1M+
tokens migrated to a dedicated 6-digit BIN with zero Dasher action.
Scale and volume
30%+
of DoorDash’s US monthly active users now shop outside restaurants.
Expansion
1 to 4
countries from the US into Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Reach
1 to 6
verticals, from restaurants to grocery, retail, and more.
Introduction
Introduction
DoorDash is no longer solely a delivery company. What began as a restaurant delivery platform has evolved into a broader local commerce ecosystem powering how consumers discover, shop, and transact with businesses globally. In 2025, DoorDash became the #1 third-party marketplace for grocery and retail order volume in the United States1, with more than 30% of DoorDash's US monthly active users now shopping outside restaurants.2
That evolution required payment infrastructure that could evolve with it. Restaurant delivery, grocery basket sizes, varying retail categories, and multi-country expansion each placed different demands on issuing, risk controls, and reliability. In 2016, DoorDash partnered with Marqeta on a solution — the Red Card program — which has supported the platform’s expansion ever since.
The challenge
Issuing infrastructure built to evolve, not just to launch
Adaptability
Most card programs solve one problem at launch. DoorDash needed a partner that could solve a new one in every phase of growth.
Flexibility
Enabling flexible in-store commerce at scale, while preserving control
Unlike traditional delivery platforms, DoorDash's expanding local commerce ecosystem required enabling physical, in-store purchases in real time across millions of transactions. DoorDash needed a card program that could fund a precise order amount at the moment of purchase, maintain controls around usage at the transaction level, and not complicate checkout for the Dasher. Every second a Dasher spent standing at the register, waiting for a transaction to be approved, directly impacted delivery speed and overall customer experience.
Replicating an entire payment program across regulatory regimes without sacrificing speed or economics
Every new market for DoorDash is a new banking landscape, a new compliance regime, a new set of network rules, and a new operational footprint. Most companies expanding internationally either build a parallel program for each market (which can be costly, time-consuming, and operationally fragmented) or stitch together cross-border issuance from a US base, accepting weaker authorization rates and reconciliation friction along the way.
Neither approach scaled to DoorDash’s standards. DoorDash needed to expand into Canada, Australia, and New Zealand with the speed of cross-border issuance yet the economics of local issuance, without needing to rebuild the program market by market.
Expanding into entirely new commerce categories without breaking the existing program
When DoorDash moved beyond restaurants, the Red Card had to do something most card programs aren't designed to do: support fundamentally different transaction profiles within the same program. Grocery basket sizes that dwarf restaurant tickets. Retail purchases with different return and refund patterns. Beauty and home improvement merchants with category-specific fraud profiles.
Each new vertical introduced operational complexity that could have destabilized the existing program. The challenge was expansion without disruption, and at the pace of DoorDash's commerce strategy, not a payment vendor's release cycle.
“What sets Marqeta apart is that they show up as a partner, not just a vendor.”
The solution
DoorDash chose Marqeta in 2016 for one crucial capability and stayed for the platform that grew around it.
Just-in-Time (JIT) Funding™
was the foundational decision. Rather than pre-loading cards with funds, JIT Funding authorizes each purchase only when order details and amount match what DoorDash has on file. That single mechanism solved a multi-pronged problem: it enforced order accuracy, reduced fraud exposure, and maintained transaction integrity all while keeping the checkout process smooth and uncomplicated for Dashers. Every Red Card transaction still routes through this mechanism today, with Marqeta's merchant category code (MCC) management layer adding a second control: DoorDash maintains an allow list at the category level, supporting both fraud prevention and rapid vertical expansion without platform rebuilds.
API-first architecture made evolution possible
The original Red Card launched quickly because Marqeta's APIs were built for it. The same architecture supported every subsequent expansion: virtual card issuance for faster Dasher onboarding, tokenization to Apple Pay and Google Pay, MCC coverage for new merchant verticals, and the migration to a dedicated 6-digit BIN that moved over a million tokens seamlessly on the back end — no Dasher action required. Authorization logic, MCC controls, and reporting stay consistent across every card format, so the Dasher experience is the same regardless of how the card was issued.
Global infrastructure that deploys once and scales everywhere
DoorDash launched with Marqeta in the United States in 2016. Canada and Australia followed in 2024, and New Zealand launched in 2025, alongside Apple Pay and Google Pay support across all four countries. Each market deployed the same core program logic, configured locally — no rebuild, no parallel infrastructure.
Platform reliability is foundational, not aspirational
As the program has expanded across new verticals, geographies, and card formats, Marqeta has continued to meet the operational performance DoorDash needs to keep Dashers, merchants, and customers moving. Real-time transaction data flows directly to DoorDash, giving operations teams visibility into transaction activity, merchant performance, and authorization patterns. That visibility supports both daily operations and the longer-cycle decisions that define how the program evolves.
The impact
A decade of compounding scale
Marqeta has partnered with DoorDash on the Red Card program since 2016, supporting the platform’s expansion from a US-only restaurant delivery platform to a multi-country, multi-vertical neighborhood commerce solution.
+3 Markets
Expanded outside the US
Added Canada, Australia, New Zealand
+2 Card formats
Modernized card formats
Added virtual, tokenized (Apple Pay, Google Pay)
Quantifiable measure
Issuance model optimization
From single-market to local issuance in every market
+5 Verticals
Expanded from restaurants into
Grocery, retail, convenience, beauty, home improvement
Scale that has compounded year after year
The partnership has processed multiple billions of dollars since 2016, and 2025 delivered the largest annual growth in the program's history.
Fraud control without friction
JIT Funding has materially reduced fraud exposure across the program. Because every authorization validates order details and amount in real time, the surface area for misuse stays narrow, even as the program scales across new verticals, new geographies, and new card formats.
Looking ahead
Supporting DoorDash's platform evolution
The Red Card launched in 2016 to solve real-time restaurant authorization in a single country. A decade later, it continues to power DoorDash's expansion into everyday commerce across four markets.
DoorDash and Marqeta have renewed their partnership for the next chapter, a vote of confidence in the platform that has supported the Red Card through a decade of transformation, and a commitment to building together for what comes next.
“What sets Marqeta apart is that they show up as a partner, not just a vendor. As DoorDash has grown into new markets and use cases like Groceries and Retail, Marqeta's team has consistently helped us solve hard problems creatively, and their platform has scaled right alongside us.”
Anand Subbarayan,
Head of Global Money Product
Related resources
As of December 2025. Based on YipitData’s order count share data and is inclusive of grocery, convenience, alcohol, and retail orders. Category represents YipitData’s analysis of third-party grocery & retail delivery service providers only and is a small fraction of the overall industry.
As of December 2025. Based on internal data of DoorDash and is inclusive of grocery, convenience, alcohol, and retail orders.