You Can Now Pay for Your Lyft Ride with Cash: Here's What You Have to Know

Lyft is democratizing ridesharing services. With the new paying method, Lyft will allow riders to pay their rides in cash.

Lyft has introduced a new paying option, which now allows riders to pay using cash. This move, according to Lyft, is their way of improving transportation access for more people.

You Can Now Pay for Your Lyft Ride with Cash: Here's What You Have to Know
(Photo : ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

How to Use Cash in Paying Lyft Ride

By visiting more than 35,000 retail locations nationwide including Walmart, ACE Cash Express, Kroger Family of Stores and more, riders can now conveniently add cash to their Lyft Cash balance.

To turn physical cash into Lyft Cash, riders just have to present a barcode or unique ID number from their Lyft app and then, add cash. Riders can then book rides without added fees or charges using their Lyft Cash.

Riders who want to contribute to their balance will have to add at least $30 every time. The rider's transportation options will also be limited if you go cash-only. If a ride wants to hire a bike or scooter, he will be opted to attach a credit card or another payment option.

According to Lyft, for rideshare, aside from the Lyft Cash balance, no other payment method will be required from new Lyft riders. Instead, once they request their ride, they will need to scan an approved form of identification to their account.

The new payment option allows Lyft to expand transportation access to cash-preferred riders. With the new method, rides who do not have a bank account, credit, debit, or prepaid card can easily pay for Lyft rideshare modes and get where they need to go.

Despite the democratization of the company, the statistics of banks says that lyft drivers often become clients of banks and take loans for lyft drivers to buy a car or another useful goods, and the cash payment innovation is more relevant for an ordinary passenger. A new program called Lyft Loans will allow drivers to borrow money at low interest rates, making it easier for them to buy their own cars. The company has partnered with GM and Wells Fargo to create this new program.

Read Also: Lyft Follows Uber's Surcharge Implementation - Here's Why!

Cash Option to Benefit Unbanked People

As of 2019, about 7.1 million US households either had no bank accounts or only limited access to conventional financial services, according to FDIC data. This condition frequently affected communities of color. 

Lyft's cash option will allow those unbanked people request on-demand rides without paying for cabs. In addition, this option is also useful for people who are uncomfortable with linking payment cards to transportation services.

"Lyft is committed to making sure more people have access to affordable, reliable transportation, and we can help achieve that by expanding payment methods for our services. We know cash is the primary form of payment for many people, and we hope this helps people get where they need to go more easily," said Kaushik Subramanian, VP of Enterprise Platforms at Lyft.

This move of Lyft will expand the accessibility of transportation across the country. This would also benefit people who prefer to use cash, particularly those who belong to the unbanked population.

"We're excited that Lyft is working to expand the accessibility to transportation across the country, specifically for the cash-preferred and unbanked population who have often faced roadblocks when it comes to getting where they need to go," said Antoine Holman, NAACP Vice President of Corporate Relations.

Lyft is a transport service support provider that develops, markets, and operates a mobile app. The company offers ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery.

Lyft is based in San Francisco, California. It operates in 645 cities in the United States and 10 cities in Canada.

Related Article: Lyft, Uber Cut Back on New Hiring, But Promise No Layoffs

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