Cape Town - A minibus taxi route from Bellville to Mitchells Plain has welcomed a tap-to-phone instant payment method brought to them by Loop’s tech-based solutions and Visa.
The aim is to digitise the minibus taxi industry, making it safer and more secure for drivers and commuters.
With this service, commuters using Loop taxis can pay their taxi fare by simply tapping their enabled bank cards or phones in a Loop taxi.
The transactions between commuters and taxi operators will be handled by the multinational financial service provider Visa, as part of their Transforming Urban Mobility programme.
The Tap-to-Phone solution is added to Loop’s existing Chat-to-Pay feature on WhatsApp. The Chat-to-Pay solution enables commuters signed up with Loop to use their cellphones to scan the driver’s QR code on display in the taxi.
After scanning the QR code, commuters will see the driver’s picture, name and vehicle registration, and can settle their taxi fare using the safe and secure Chat-to-Pay feature on WhatsApp.
This service has more than 3 000 active commuters, with many safely topping up their secure Loop transport wallets for a week or month at a time.
Bell-Plain Association chairperson Melton Oppelt said this new paying method has been trialled on their route for about three weeks now.
After they started using the digital method, he and his association members have started paying their drivers using their bank accounts, instead of cash, enabling them to have financial visibility and a credit score.
A commuter travelling the BellPlain route, Marilyn Bester, said she was looking forward to using the new paying method but she wants more information on how it works.
“Having to use bank cards as a way of payment is much easier for me because I always have my bank cards with me, instead of cash. This initiative must be introduced to other routes as well, making this easier for every taxi user.”
The founder and CEO of Loop, Imtiyaaz Riley, said: “The minibus taxi industry is the backbone of public transport in South Africa, and for generations owners and associations could not track the income of their taxis accurately.
“Our vision at Loop is to steer the industry into the digital future, but we recognise that this cannot be a solo journey. Collaboration with taxi associations is essential, as owners and drivers stand as the true driving force behind our solution. Together, we can re-imagine and reshape the minibus taxi landscape for a brighter, more efficient tomorrow.”
Visa vice-president, product and solution, Vinesh Ramnarain, said: “We have done our research over the past year trying to understand the taxi industry and how it works.
“There’s about R19bn in cash flowing around, and as Visa we want to help and see how we can digitise a lot of that cash so it can grow the ecosystem.”
