Starting from today, you can pay by cash for Uber services in Croatia.
Starting from Monday, users of Uber services in Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar can choose to pay by cash or by credit card, reports Netokracija on September 26, 2016.
The main advantage of Uber is transparency and ease of use. Rides can be ordered through an app which shows who is the driver, which car will arrive, when it will come, and at the end of the ride you just get out of the car, while the amount is automatically charged to your account. However, this last part of the process has changed in Croatia as of today – Uber has introduced the option of cash payments.
The reason is simple. About 40 percent of Croats, according to Uber data, do not use credit cards, so in this way the company wants to reach out to them and increase the number of users of its services. Croatia is not the only such country – Uber has already introduced such payment method in 29 countries, which is interesting because Uber was the one which made using cash “obsolete”. Payment in cash was first introduced in less developed countries where the use of credit cards is not widespread enough, but then it was expanded to countries with an above average use of credit cards, such as Singapore.
Davor Tremac, general manager of Uber for Southeast Europe, explained Uber’s thinking. “Although Uber initially allowed only digital transactions, over the years and due to the expansion to countries where credit cards are not widespread, we had to introduce alternative forms of payment, such as cash which enables other users to use our services, such as the elderly, students and users who do not have access to credit cards. In Croatia, less than 40 percent of people use credit cards, and others were therefore denied the option of using Uber. They will now have access to a safe, reliable and inexpensive form of transportation. The fact that someone does not have or does not want to use a credit card should not mean they cannot safely and reliably move from one point to another.”
New users of Uber in Croatia can immediately use the cash only option, without the need to enter credit card data during registration process, which has so far been necessary to use the service. Current users can now choose between cash and credit card for each ride. If you wish to pay with cash, you only need to select the option within the application. Customers using multiple payment methods can choose the desired one before requesting a ride, and the amount will be paid to the driver at the end.
This is the second “paper-related” change Uber has introduced in Croatia in recent weeks. In addition to paying with cash, all the passengers can now get paper receipts issued by drivers.
