Uber for Business expands its corporate Eats delivery feature to 20 more countries

Uber for Business, a platform designed for corporate customers, is expanding its food delivery Eats product to more than 20 countries this year, in response to a surge in demand as more employees work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The expansion kicks off Wednesday, starting with Brazil, Canada, France and the UK.

The ride-hailing company launched Business for Uber in 2014 to give companies a tool that would streamline payments for rides taken by their employees and clients. In 2018, the platform added a corporate version of its on-demand Uber Eats app, which lets companies set meal programs so employees can order food at certain times and locations and create automatic spending allowances.

Uber had plans to expand the business version of Eats. Uber said it accelerated those plans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prompted governments around the world to issue stay at home orders that has millions of employees working remotely.

In March, active Uber for Business customers using Eats grew 28% from the previous month, according to the company.

Uber for Business has also added new features to Eats. Employees can now use their individual

corporate cards and manage orders through a business profile on the Uber Eats app or website.