Lyft Cash: for the unbanked
Building on the foundation of Lyft Cash, we built a way for the unbanked to use rideshare
Problem
In the US, access to transportation is a key factor in advancing income brackets. Because of the unreliability of public transportation in the US, the unbanked population needs and should be able to use rideshare options like Lyft.
Leveraging the foundations of the stored balance product Lyft Cash, the company identified partners with physical locations that would provide the digital tech stack needed to transfer digital value to these users’ account. In the app, the user would receive a bar code to show the location in addition to the amount of money they wanted. After exchanging the money and scanning the bar code, Lyft Cash would become available in the user’s app, thus giving people without a bank, debit card, or credit card the ability to use Lyft.
Solution
My approach focused on transparency and confidence. The flows needed to simply explain how to turn physical cash into Lyft Cash and indicating quick, sure transfers from cash to app.
Approach
When adding a payment method, a new option for cash
is rendered.
When the user selects a store, they are given the option to see the location-specific barcode.
When the user selects cash as their payment method, I opted to give users all the info they needed up front.
The user then gives the money to the location’s employee and shows a barcode like the one above.
After selecting ‘Find a store,’ the app renders a map with all locations who will exchange physical money for Lyft Cash.
After the bar code is scanned, Lyft Cash appears in the app. I opted for a full-screen takeover to imbue confidence that the transaction occurred.
The product enabled many more users to access the Lyft platform than would have beforehand. While I left the company soon after launch, this product remains live in the passenger apps today. This is one of my proudest projects in my time with tech because it opens the doors to our products to the rest of the world.