Dutch mobility company umob has partnered with financial technology platform Adyen to offer international payment methods for shared transport within its app.
Umob is a single booking solution for customers to plan, book and pay for all shared mopeds, bikes, scooters, taxis and public transport, offering customers access to more than 50,000 vehicles worldwide.
Set to launch this month, umob’s international in-app payment solution means customers can use umob’s single platform to book mobility options across borders rather than needing several local or national apps.
“People are willing to use shared transport services but the way they currently are able to do so is not convenient enough to make it the future,” umob CEO Bibi Jorissen told Zag Daily.
“Transactions can be costly and complex, something we want to avoid for our users. Eliminating setting up different payment methods in different apps enhances ease of use and lowers barriers to entry. We make sure the customer can sign up free of charge and make use of the services for the same prices as the operator’s.”
Adyen will bring a range of payment options to umob’s app including Apple Pay and Google Pay which umob’s previous payment service provider did not allow.
The partnership comes after umob acquired Finnish mobility company MaaS Global earlier this year to operate under its pay-per-ride business model.
An all-in-one app means a user can always have a vehicle nearby – a density which Bibi believes is not achievable by a single operator.
“To have a vehicle near you in the city centre of Amsterdam, a single operator needs at least 10,000 vehicles in the city – something that is not doable and not even allowed following the permit. However, if we combine all existing operators, we do achieve that scale and density. That density is needed to make sure people are using shared mobility.
“We as umob pave the way for new people to easily register and adopt shared mobility, also bringing the individual operators incremental business. That is where we add value, and how we make the business profitable and healthy together.”
