Taxi hailing app Easy Taxi has integrated Lipa na M-Pesa mobile money payment for its Kenyan operations, in efforts to provide a variety of cashless payment options for users.
Easy Taxi announced it now has a dedicated Lipa na M-Pesa paybill number, allowing users to pay their fare directly to the Easy Taxi account, on arrival at their destination.
Users go to their Lipa na M-Pesa menu, and enter in business number 176207, the driver’s unique driver code, and the fare. The payment is verified with a user’s PIN, and they will receive a receipt immediately, which they show to their driver to confirm payment has been made.
Easy Taxi said the new payment method is aimed at ensuring all users have a seamless, convenient method of payment available to them; and is the latest in a number of efforts at offering a range of cashless payment options.
Earlier this year, the company launched Easy Taxi Pay, an in-app cashless payment option that allows customers to add their credit or debit cards and pay for a ride by simply tapping their smartphone screen.
Customers can also pay with M-Pesa sent direct to their driver’s account.
Easy Taxi has been aggressively expanding its offering in Kenya, launching in new cities country-wide and integrating new features.
Most recently, it rolled out the service in Mombasa, following a June launch in Nakuru.
Easy Taxi has also been expanding its product offering, with Disrupt Africa reporting in September the startup launched a version of its taxi app integrated with Microsoft’s email solution Outlook; making it possible for a user to request a taxi within their Outlook email when reminded of a calendar event.