McDonald's Makes Uber Preferred Delivery Partner in 14 Markets

McDonald's and Uber Technologies have signed a multi-year expansion covering 14 markets, making Uber the preferred delivery provider for orders placed through McDonald's own app in countries including the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the U.K.

The full footprint also spans Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. Orders will be fulfilled by Uber Direct, Uber's white-label service that handles deliveries booked through companies' own channels — not through the Uber Eats marketplace app.

What does this change for McDonald's delivery economics?

The mechanism is straightforward. McDonald's wants delivery volume to run through its first-party app rather than third-party marketplaces, because first-party orders give the chain the customer data, loyalty engagement and pricing control that marketplace orders largely surrender to aggregators. Consumers have repeatedly said they prefer ordering directly from restaurant chains' apps, and this deal leans into that preference.

The payoff is already large by any measure. Since the landmark 2017 Uber Eats deal that helped launch third-party delivery as a nationwide U.S. ordering platform, delivery has grown into a $20 billion annual global business for McDonald's. Nearly a decade later, this expansion deepens the same relationship while shifting the traffic toward McDonald's-owned digital channels.

"McDonald's has been an incredible partner since we first teamed up in 2017, and this marks our broadest expansion with McDonald's to date," Andrew Macdonald, president and chief operating officer at Uber, said in a statement.

Loyalty perks ride along

The agreement adds new benefits for MyMcDonald's Rewards members. Starting this month, loyalty members in select markets can redeem points for discounts on Uber rides through a seasonal activation in the mobile app — a cross-category perk that extends the rewards currency beyond food.

More is planned. The two companies intend to let loyalty members earn points on delivery orders placed through Uber Eats, closing the gap between marketplace orders and first-party ordering in the rewards structure.

One app, one consumer ID

The deal also fits McDonald's broader push to unify its digital infrastructure. Manu Stejaert, president of McDonald's International Operated Markets, told the Global Restaurant Leadership Conference that the company is building a global mobile app so customers are recognized from one country to the next.

"It allows us to connect 250 million consumers around the world, and all of them would have one consumer ID, and we recognize wherever they come into the market," Stejaert said, calling mobile ordering an "opportunity."

For a chain operating at that scale, a single consumer ID across markets means richer data on a base roughly the population of Germany — and a stronger position to personalize offers, pricing and delivery incentives wherever a customer travels.

The near-term watch item is execution: whether preferred-provider status in six major markets, plus Uber Direct fulfillment inside McDonald's own app, moves enough order volume first-party to matter against the $20 billion delivery base — and whether the planned Uber Eats points-earning feature arrives before rivals close their own loyalty gaps.