Rider terms

You must be 18 or older, with a South African ID, or a passport and a valid permit that allows you to work. You need a smartphone, a bank account in your own name and an emergency contact.

A scooter or motorbike needs a valid code A1 or A driver's licence; a car needs code B or EB. The vehicle must be licensed, roadworthy and insured as the law requires. You wear a helmet on anything with two wheels, and use lights after dark.

Before your first delivery you pass the MAIZU food-safety course, send MAIZU photos of your ID, a selfie holding it and (for a motor vehicle) your licence, the vehicle with its number plate and its licence disc, and buy a MAIZU bag. MAIZU checks the photos and tells you by email if one needs redoing.

The photos are kept in MAIZU's private storage, seen only by MAIZU staff who check riders, and deleted within 30 days of your rider account ending. Sending a false or someone else's document ends your application.

You ride as an independent contractor, not an employee. You choose when you are online and which deliveries you accept. You pay your own costs (fuel, data, upkeep) and your own tax.

You are responsible for obeying the road rules and for your own safety and your vehicle. Never ride under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and never use your phone while moving.

Every order travels in your closed MAIZU bag. You buy it online at MAIZU's cost, plus postage, once your photos are approved; MAIZU posts it to you with a tracking number.

You only take an order once it is closed and sealed. Food goes hot and cold apart, drinks upright. You never open, taste or swap anything, and you go straight to the receiver while you carry food, aiming to deliver within 45 minutes of collection.

You clean the inside of the bag every day and after any spill, carry nothing else in it, and stay offline when you are ill. If food spills or a seal breaks, you do not deliver it: you tell the buyer and report it in the app.

You collect an order, confirm in the app that it is sealed and in your bag, and deliver it to the address on the order. You mark it delivered only with the 4-digit code the receiver gives you once it is in their hands. Entering a code you did not get from them is fraud.

Bicycles take deliveries up to 5 km, scooters 20 km, motorbikes 25 km and cars 40 km. The app only shows deliveries your vehicle can do.

Buyers' names, phone numbers and addresses are for that delivery only. You may not save them, share them or contact anyone after the delivery.

You earn the share of each delivery fee shown in the app (80% unless it says otherwise), fixed when the buyer pays. MAIZU pays you weekly, by EFT, for deliveries whose buyer has confirmed receipt or 24 hours after delivery with no problem reported. MAIZU pays only from money it has received.

If a delivery is reported as not received, damaged or tampered with, its fee is held while MAIZU looks into it, and is not paid if you were at fault.

MAIZU may pause or end your rider account for breaking these terms, for complaints it has looked into, for an expired licence, or for unsafe riding or food handling. You are told the reason in the app. Deliveries you finished properly are still paid.

You may stop riding at any time. Return the bag in good order and MAIZU refunds what you paid for it, less fair wear.