Ride-hailing platform, Bolt, has launched an on-demand cash withdrawal option for its drivers to provide early access to cash earned on the platform from cashless payment methods and other earnings.

Mr Femi Akin-Laguda, Bolt Country Manager, said in a statement that this would enable drivers to easily withdraw earned cash whenever they needed it and further improve their customer experience.

“Drivers are core to our business, and we must continue to retain the trust and loyalty we have earned over the years by fulfilling our promise to keep improving the overall experience for every driver.

“The early cashout option improves liquidity for our drivers by ensuring that they have easier and faster access to their earnings; this will include fares for trips paid with cashless options like cards, driver bonuses and payments for passenger discounts.

“Our aim is to ensure that our drivers have flexibility in how they access their earnings while passengers will be more confident to request rides with any payment method they wish,” he said.

Akin-Laguda said that the cashout product processes payments directly to drivers’ bank accounts.

“The cashout requests during business hours will be processed in less than an hour, while requests outside these hours on business days will be processed on the same day.

“Furthermore, early cashout requests made on weekends and holidays will be processed on the following business day,” he said.

The early cashout service is available to drivers once a day with a transaction fee of NGN15 paid to the bank. The feature is active for existing drivers who have been on the platform for up to two weeks and have completed at least 25 trips without any irregularities,” he said.

Bolt had recently launched a vehicle financing scheme that enables drivers to be their own boss by owning a car with low equity repayment.

With over 10,000 drivers in Nigeria on its platform, Bolt provides service for passengers across more than 25 cities in the country.