Help & FAQ

#EatLocal is a community dining program that gives you cashback rewards when you eat at participating local restaurants. Your employer sponsors the program, and you fund your own dining card. Every time you tap your card at a local restaurant, you earn a rebate funded by the program's sponsorship pool.

You'll receive an invite from your employer with a code. Visit eatlocally.ai/activate, enter the code, link your personal debit or credit card, and your virtual Visa card is created instantly. Add it to Apple Wallet or Google Pay and you're ready to go.

You load money onto your #EatLocal card from your personal debit or credit card — just like loading a prepaid card. You choose how much to load. You can also enable auto top-up so your card refills automatically when the balance gets low.

Every time you make a purchase at a participating restaurant, a cashback reward is credited back to your card. The reward is funded by your employer's sponsorship of the #EatLocal program. You'll see the reward appear in your dashboard after each transaction. The reward rate and monthly cap are set by the program.

Your card works at participating local restaurants in your area — these are chamber of commerce member businesses. If you try to use your card at a non-participating restaurant, the transaction will be declined and you'll get a notification with nearby participating restaurants.

Your card may be declined if: the restaurant isn't a participating merchant, your card balance is too low, you've exceeded daily spending limits, or your card is frozen. Check your dashboard for details and nearby participating restaurants.

Yes. You can freeze and unfreeze your card anytime from your dashboard. While frozen, all transactions will be declined. If you lose your phone, freeze your card immediately and request a replacement.

EatLocally purchase rebates are structured as purchase discounts, similar to credit card cashback rewards. We do not provide tax advice — consult your tax advisor for questions about your specific situation. See our Terms of Service for details.

Sponsorship starts at approximately $10/person/month, capped at your budget. You only pay for actual usage — if an employee doesn't use their card, it costs you nothing. The sponsorship is tax-deductible as a marketing/community sponsorship expense.

Monthly engagement reports include: participation rate, total local dining spend generated, number of unique restaurants visited, cashback rewards posted, and economic impact metrics. Reports are designed for your leadership team and CSR reporting.

Your company gets a custom-branded #EatLocal card (your logo and colors) that employees add to Apple Wallet and Google Pay. You also get branded table toppers placed at participating restaurants. You control the design creative.

Catering costs $50-80/person/week and benefits one vendor. DoorDash credits cost $40/person/week and keep people at their desks. #EatLocal costs ~$10/person/month, gets people out of the building and into the neighborhood, and you can measure the engagement impact. Plus, 68 cents of every dollar spent at a local restaurant stays in the local economy.

No. #EatLocal cards are standard Visa cards. Your POS processes them like any other Visa transaction. You don't install anything, create any promo codes, or change your menu prices. Customers pay full price.

If you're a chamber of commerce member, you're automatically included — the card works at your business. For featured placement in the daily "What's for Lunch?" email sent to all cardholders, you can upgrade to a Featured ($99/month) or Premium ($249/month) tier.

No. Customers pay your full menu price. The cashback reward is between the customer and the #EatLocal program — you are not involved in the discount. You just see a normal Visa transaction at full price.

Nothing. We build and operate the platform. The chamber brings the relationships — corporate sponsors and restaurant members. Revenue from restaurant participation fees is split 50/50 between the chamber and EatLocally.

Absolutely. Your program, your name. #EatLocalCupertino, #TasteOfAustin, #DineDTLA — whatever fits your city. The program is white-labeled to your chamber's identity.

Restaurants can pay $99-249/month for featured placement in the daily recommendation emails sent to all cardholders. The chamber earns 50% of these participation fees. As more cardholders join, more restaurants want featured placement — creating a growing revenue stream.