Companies

Taxi-hailing firm Little launches own virtual wallet

KAMA

Kamal Budhabhatti, CEO of Little’s parent firm Craft Silicon. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Safaricom #ticker:SCOM -backed taxi-hailing platform Little has unveiled an electronic wallet to encourage riders using their taxis to pay for trips online.

The in-app feature, dubbed Little Coins, requires riders to load the wallet via an M-Pesa pay bill number to pay a driver or buy airtime. The feature allows riders to deposit up to Sh50,000 into the virtual wallet.

The feature also allows account holders to pay for rides taken by dependents.

The taxi-hailing firm now plans to introduce paying off some bills through the online account in the near future.

Further, it is set to partner with a petrol station brand where drivers will be allowed to use the electronic funds to pay for fuel.

“Many drivers have started preferring cashless transactions because that is safe,” said Kamal Budhabhatti, CEO of Little’s parent firm Craft Silicon.

READ: Craft Silicon revenue hits Sh5bn on pay platform use

ALSO READ: Little enforces face recognition for its cab drivers

He added that Little Coins allows drivers to withdraw funds anytime, making it more convenient than other platforms where cash can only be taken out after a few days.

“Having cash on Little wallet is easy for riders since they do not have to worry about the change. It’s completely hassle-free. When the trip ends the driver account gets credited both get notified when the transaction is done,” he said.