Lyft Adds a New Cash Payment Option

pcmag.com:

Lyft this week introduced a new cash payment option for riders who don't have a bank account, credit, debit, or prepaid card.

The Lyft Cash digital wallet(Opens in a new window) lets users load money into their account(Opens in a new window) to book rides (with no added fees or charges).

To use it, simply open the app's Payment tab to see your balance, then tap "Add cash" to top up in-store by visiting one of more than 35,000 participating stores nationwide, including Walmart, Walgreens, ACE Cash Express, Kroger, Family Dollar, Kwik Trip, Sheetz, and more.

Click "Find a store" to see a map of nearby options, choose your favorite to receive a unique barcode, then show it to the cashier to complete your purchase. If cash is the only payment method on your Lyft account, you'll need to scan an approved form of identification before your next ride.

There is a $30 minimum for in-store refills, and customers can add up to $300 at a time. Those paying online can add $25, $50, or $100 at a time, with the option to automatically replenish when your balance dips below $15.

"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," Kaushik Subramanian, VP of enterprise platforms at Lyft, said in a statement. "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."

Riders looking to borrow a bike or scooter, meanwhile, must have an additional alternative payment method such as a credit card attached to their account to use Lyft Cash.

According to a 2019 FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) survey (PDF(Opens in a new window)), 7.1 million