Uber now takes cash payments … but not in London
Uber passengers in the UK can now pay with cash anywhere but London after an 18-month trial in several cities.
Having previously required cashless payments via its app, Uber said the move was part of its efforts to make transport more accessible. Pilot schemes in Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham and Stoke found that some passengers preferred or relied on using cash.
The option to allow cash payments for Ubers in London remains under review by local authorities.
ALAMY
The news comes after a report from the Treasury select committee warned that the rise of card-only services risked marginalising vulnerable groups who rely on cash to budget.
'There may come a time in the future where it becomes necessary for HM Treasury to mandate cash acceptance if appropriate safeguards have not been implemented for those who need physical cash,' the report said.
Dame Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury committee, said the findings should be a 'wake-up call' to the government after the report warned the shift to cashless payments could create a 'poverty premium' for those without digital access. 'A sizeable minority depend on being able to use cash,' she told the BBC. 'The government is in the dark on how widely cash is being accepted and that is completely unsustainable.'
Uber said: 'We believe that movement should be accessible to everyone, so following successful pilots in some UK cities over the last 18 months, we have decided to give passengers outside of London the option to pay for trips with cash.'
• I was scolded by my driverless Uber taxi
Passengers can select cash as their payment option on the Uber app. Drivers can opt out and if any cannot provide change then Uber will issue a credit to the customer's account. The option only covers car journeys and not other services available on the app such as Uber Eats food deliveries or rail and coach trips.
Ron Delnevo, chair of the Payment Choice Alliance, said Uber's decision 'demonstrates that they now believe in the future of cash in the UK', bringing the firm in line with its operations in many other countries. He urged the government to go further and introduce a legal requirement for all shops and services to accept cash.
While ministers say there are no current plans for such legislation, the Treasury committee's report highlighted that many vulnerable groups still rely on cash, including those with learning disabilities, and others use it to manage tight budgets.
The committee also heard testimonies from survivors of domestic and economic abuse, some of whom rely on cash to avoid being tracked by the perpetrators. In certain cases, buying a train ticket could alert an abusive partner if it were done via card or app.
'It really is a matter of life and death,' said Sam Smethers, chief executive of the charity Surviving Economic Abuse. Without cash, she said, people 'find themselves monitored daily, with every transaction'.
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