According to Hailo CEO Jay Bregman, the taxi application Hailo is “actively” considering allowing its customers to use Bitcoin payments.
In an interview with CoinDesk, he said that the company would let its users call taxis through their apps and even allow users to send bitcoins directly to taxi drivers, a move that would make the company accept other bitcoin payments. The leader in the enterprise.
So far, most merchants have chosen to convert Bitcoin directly into a French currency bitcoin payment plan.
Bregman said: “We are always looking for an independent way to help our drivers and passengers. I am convinced that Bitcoin is one of these methods. Absolutely, as with many other options, we are also actively considering the use of Bitcoin.”
Payment option
It should be emphasized that his remarks are published in his personal capacity (ie not representing the company’s position). He said Bitcoin can be an alternative to Hailo, but it will not replace the current user authorization program (the program) A credit or debit card is required).
“I don’t want who accepts Bitcoin to be the main way people use our services. But Bitcoin can be a checkout method that you can choose. We can receive the money in your wallet, send it back to us, or even directly to the driver. “”
He said that in order to create such a service, Hailo will try to contact an existing bitcoin service provider instead of storing the wallet itself. This experience will be similar to paying with a credit card and a borrowed card, and the funds will be automatically removed from the customer’s account, Bregman said.
This service needs to work with a Bitcoin wallet service that holds the user’s personal key.
Bregman said that the main advantage of accepting bitcoin payments is to help some drivers avoid sending remittance fees to foreign relatives and friends.
“Bitcoin will provide benefits for our drivers and passengers. If you think about doing this, you are connecting a wallet to the passenger and also opening a bitcoin wallet for the driver.”
Drivers who choose to accept Bitcoin can use Bitcoin to remit money directly. In fact, this is free. You can also use one of the many emerging Bitcoin remittance companies to convert them into local currency, but the fees are much lower than traditional payment companies like Western Union.
“Some of our drivers remit a large part of their income to foreign countries,” Bregman said. “If we can help them solve this problem, they only charge 10-20% of their original remittance cost structure. This will be a great deal. Savings. So why don’t they choose us? This is the real problem.”
Mess up an industry
In addition to fierce competition from rivals such as Uber, Hailo has to face opposition from licensed drivers in London in recent months. The app was created by Bregman and two drivers, but now the service has been expanded to private rental cars. (Annotation: means grabbing the traditional taxi driver’s job). In May, the company’s office was damaged.
Bregman dismissed the suggestion that “bitcoin is a disturbance when Hailo has more important challenges to deal with” and said: “I think that anything that can provide substantial benefits to our drivers will not be an interference.”
He declined to say when Hailo would start accepting bitcoin payments, but he said he wouldn’t expect to hit Uber and Lyft by becoming the first taxi app to accept bitcoin.
“We introduced new features because it is the right time, and it happens to be our priority, not because we want to fight them.”
