Hailo Launches Electronic Payment Service for Taxis

NEW YORK and LONDON, Sept. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hailo, the world's favorite e-hail app, is making taxi payment even more seamless by launching a new feature, Pay with Hailo. This innovative service offering allows passengers to conveniently pay for a street-hailed taxi ride with the Hailo app.

Using Apple's iBeacon technology, the Hailo app will automatically recognize when a passenger is in a Hailo driver's vehicle and invite them to connect and pay for their ride via a simple one-click confirmation. Where iBeacon is not available, passengers can select their driver from a list and connect and pay that way. Pay with Hailo does not depend on NFC or any special hardware, requiring only a smartphone equipped with the Hailo app.

Just like Hailo's e-hail service, Pay with Hailo puts passengers in control, letting them set their tip, step out at the end of the ride, and receive an electronic receipt. Pay with Hailo also benefits drivers, saving them valuable time at the end of a ride. With each card used being pre-approved before each hail, drivers are also guaranteed to be paid for every fare.

For an initial promotional period, there will be no charge to either the passenger or the driver for using Pay with Hailo. If a passenger does not have the Hailo app, drivers will instruct passengers on how to download the app and receive a discount for their first Pay with Hailo ride.

"Hailo's vision has always been to make daily life a little more hassle free, and the launch of Pay with Hailo is a big step in that direction," said Tom Barr, CEO of Hailo.  "We are proud to be the world's first on-demand transportation service to offer the convenience of both e-hail and seamless in-taxi payment in a single app."

This feature announcement follows the launch of Hailo's public API, allowing third party developers to access the extensive Hailo network of drivers, while providing useful travel information to their users.

Pay with Hailo launches today in Boston and all of Ireland, with thousands of Hailo taxis ready to accept payment. Expansion to other cities is planned for the coming weeks.

Hailo is the evolution of the hail - a free smartphone app which puts people just two taps away from a licensed vehicle and lets drivers get more passengers when they want them. Launched in November 2011, Hailo is available in more than 20 cities including London, Manchester, New York, all across Ireland, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Boston, Madrid, Barcelona, Washington DC, Montreal, Atlanta and Osaka. Founded by three taxi drivers and three internet entrepreneurs, Hailo has raised $100M from investors including Union Square Ventures, Accel Partners, Wellington Partners, Atomico Ventures and Sir Richard Branson.

Hailo is available as a free download from the iTunes App Store and Google Play. Simply search "Hailo".

SOURCE Hailo