Uber Riders Pay Cash In Africa

Uber Takes Cash Payments To South Africa.

Uber announced on Thursday (May 26) that its Uber South Africa operation will begin offering a cash payment option, as well as its standard in-app electronic payments.

The experiment is taking place across five South African cities, with the goal of helping Uber to reach a broader range of consumers, who may not have opted to use the cashless service initially.

Though South Africa has a high rate of credit card usage and the top level of formal banking within sub-Saharan Africa, Quartz reported, nearly 65 percent of transactions that take place across the country are still cash-based.

Uber continues to offer cash payment in other African markets, including Kenya and Nigeria, but said in a statement that the trial run in South Africa will provide it with “insight into how riders and driver-partners adopt and use a mix of cash and electronic payments.”

“It’s very different to the U.S., where you wouldn’t think twice about making an online purchase,” Alon Lits, Uber’s general manager in sub-Saharan Africa, told ABC News.

Lits noted that adding the cash payment option in Kenya helped the company’s business to grow significantly, whereas, in other areas where cash is not offered, Uber has yet to gain traction.

The company also shared that, within the next month, it will expand its service to the capitals of Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania.