Little, a Kenyan taxi-hailing app, which is backed by Safaricom, has unveiled an electronic wallet in a bid to encourage users to pay for their trips online. The new feature requires riders to load money into the virtual wallet via an M-Pesa pay bill number, which will then pay a driver or allow riders to purchase airtime.
The feature, dubbed as “Little Coins”, also allows account holders to pay for rides taken by dependents. The taxi-hailing firm plans to introduce paying off some bills through the online account in the future. Little also plans to partner with petrol stations and allow users to use the electronic funds to pay for fuel.
Kamal Budhabhatti, CEO of Little’s parent firm Craft Silicon believes that electronic payments are a safer option for drivers, “Many drivers have started preferring cashless transactions because that is safe,” he said.
“Having cash on Little Wallet is easy for riders since they do not have to worry about the change. It’s completely hassle-free. When the trip ends the driver account gets credited both get notified when the transaction is done,” he adds.
The app was launched in 2016 by Safaricom in a partnership with Craft Silicon, a Nairobi based software company. It is available on iOS, Android, and Windows devices and will soon be available for USSD (non-smartphone) users. Little offers passengers free Wi-Fi. The app accepts cash, card, and Safaricom’s M-Pesa mobile money for payment. It also provides live GPS enabled maps for pickups.
Source: https://www.itnewsafrica.com/2017/08/kenyas-taxi-hailing-app-launches-virtual-wallet/