Uber has just announced that everyone who uses Uber in Nairobi will be able to use the cash option when paying for the service. The cash option was introduced in Nairobi on June 4th and was available to a little over 50% of Uber users in Kenya.
Additionally news users in Nairobi will now not be required to have a credit card in order to register for the service. Those that don’t have credit cards will just need to choose the cash payment option. A valid email address and a mobile number will still be required. It is however unclear how old users who have debts on their Uber accounts and are unable to pay because of lack of credit cards will be able to clear them.
The cash option was first introduced in Nairobi and Hyderabad and it has now been rolled out in five other cities in India.
I recently wrote about Uber’s problems in Kenya and I think the new announcements will have a positive impact on their business here. The new developments will definitely drive up Uber signups and use in Kenya which has slowed due to the requirement of credit cards for signups.
I’m also happy to report that Uber is taking the recruitment of a Nairobi GM & Marketing Manager seriously after announcing a fast-track recruitment process for the two positions. They announced this via an email to current Uber customers in Nairobi last week and they will be conducting the interviews tonight. The interviews will be conducted by among others Alon Lits, GM, Sub-Saharan Africa.