Ride-hailing company Lyft has implemented a new payment system for taxi app Freenow as part of a partnership with London-based FinTech Checkout.com.

The new system will handle digital payments for Freenow, a platform now owned by Lyft which allows people to book a range of different modes of transport in over 180 cities across Europe.

Available in countries like the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland and Austria, the app offers access to taxis, private and public transport, e-scooters, e-bikes, e-mopeds and car shares.

As part of the move, the company will be able to leverage AI analytics to find financial data patterns that can help it make more informed financial decisions and improve the digital payments experience of customers.

Lyft says the technology has so far enhanced the process used by Freenow to receive payments from customers once they’ve finished a journey by integrating “digital wallet options” and “smarter retry mechanisms” into the Freenow app.

Looking to facilitate further growth, Checkout.com will also handle financial acquiring for Lyft’s Freenow service in Europe.

Acquiring refers to the process of facilitating payments between customers and merchants, ensuring money travels smoothly from one to the other.

The process includes many moving parts, including user privacy, risk assessments and multistakeholder communication.

Chris von Rumohr, vice president of product and engineering of FinTech at Freenow by Lyft said that the new system enables "AI-driven driven optimisations, high payment performance and strong local payment processing capabilities."

He added: “The team took the time to understand the unique challenges of operating in the enterprise mobility market and delivered solutions that fit our needs exactly.”

Antoine Nougué, chief revenue officer at Checkout.com, said: “As mobility becomes increasingly digital, payments serve as a critical backbone for delivering smooth, reliable passenger experiences."

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