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Taxi hailing app Uber has begun accepting cash payments for rides in Indonesia, specifically within the city of Bandung where over two million people reside.

Uber users traditionally use a registered payment card to pay for their rides using the Uber app, but in countries where the use of credit or debit cards is less common, and where cash is the predominant payment choice, Uber has begun to allow the use of cash as an alternative method of payment.

In May earlier this year, Uber users in Hyderabad, India, became the first to use cash to pay for their rides. Since then, all 22 cities within India now accept cash payments, as does Nairobi in Kenya, Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and Manila in the Philippines.

In an interview with CNNMoney news, an Uber spokesperson said:

“We know that cash is still the dominant payment option for millions around the world, especially in emerging markets and smaller cities,”

“These ‘cash’ experiments are really exciting for us, given the success we’ve seen in these test markets and the potential that exists to take this even further into more cities around the world.”

Similar taxi hailing apps which accept cash payments were already in use in these countries – “GrabTaxi” operates in Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, and “Ola Cabs” is well established in India where it is reported that it holds 80% of the on-demand taxi market (Uber currently has 4%).

Source: CNNMoney

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