Cartwheel partners with Square to offer restaurants new delivery options

On-demand delivery platform Cartwheel has struck a series of deals in the last few weeks giving it added scale and creating a viable alternative to restaurants that may be looking for delivery partners.

The latest deals are with payments provider Square and the The Restaurant Marketing and Delivery Association (RMDA). Combined the two agreements will enable restaurants to leverage Cartwheel’s platform for delivery services.

“A great delivery experience is essential to earn a consumer’s repeat business, and with this in mind, we’ve been careful to source and select only the best partners and technologies for RMDA members,” said Andrew Simmons, president of RMDA. “Cartwheel offers an advanced solution for delivery programs that seek to scale, and we are proud to partner with them to bring state-of-the-art delivery management technology to our members.”

Cartwheel offers turnkey delivery and fleet management technology, including tracking. There are over 550 RMDA member companies, including delivery service providers and restaurant delivery services with more than 30,000 drivers and couriers.

“Cartwheel has been involved with the RMDA community for years, even as a member during our time building a courier company, and we are proud to have contributed to the group’s early foundation,” said Alex Vasilkin, co-founder and CEO of Cartwheel. “We are thrilled to offer our delivery management technology to RMDA members and fellow delivery service providers nationwide, empowering them to maximize their delivery capabilities.”

By adding Square to the platform, restaurants using the payment platform’s technology for checkout can now integrate with delivery providers. Cartwheel also has partnerships with Olo, ChowNow and last-mile marketplace Nash.

According to RMDA, the new partnership allows restaurants to use the Cartwheel technology to assign deliveries to in-house drivers and use outside providers as backup, or simply to use third-party drivers to fulfill orders.

Businesses can set customer rules based on order value, distance and driver availability to identify orders and route them through the most cost-efficient option.

“Cartwheel’s technology makes it easy for merchants to adopt and manage delivery, whether that be via in-house or outsourced drivers. Creating higher-margin delivery has become critical to the success of restaurants,” said Bryan Solar, head of restaurants for Square. “Square is excited to have Cartwheel be one of the first companies to access Square’s updated delivery API. We know it’s critical to our sellers and we believe Cartwheel is among the best in the market to give our sellers the flexibility, control, and more importantly, economics that restaurants need to succeed.”

Cartwheel recently announced a $3 million seed funding round. It counts P.F. Chang’s, Taco Del Mar and Portillo’s among its customers.

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Editor: Brian Straight