The service has been launched in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Pretoria in South Africa; Lagos in Nigeria; Cairo; and Nairobi, Kenya. Uber provides a cashless service, mainly targeting credit card holders, but the low penetration rates of cardholders outside South Africa has affected uptake.
In Kenya, most of the transactions are in cash or through mobile money services, commonly via the M-Pesa system. When Uber launched, online users voiced dissatisfaction with the inability to use M-Pesa. Kenyas public transport system has a cashless system that uses M-Pesa.
Uber has unveiled that is exploring the possibility of integrating the M-Pesa service in their system, but they dont yet have expected time when this is likely to roll out.
To contain any disquiet among taxi operators in the region, Uber insists it is a technology company and not a taxi or transportation company and that it does not employ drivers or own any vehicles.
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