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Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

nytimes.com

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Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#21

Post by ojm »

tgasson wrote: post #4
YogeeKnows wrote: post #2

Australians get ready for questions/requests like a. Can you please cancel OLA ride and book a ride on Uber or vice versa? #incentives #UberOLATwosome b. Cash or OLA Money?

They'll struggle to get anywhere asking for cash. Australians generally carry little to no cash around

> Australians generally carry little to no cash around

I haven’t had cash in my wallet for a few weeks now. Apple Pay or PayPass/Wave for even small amounts is fine.

They just simply lose my business now if they don’t take card. And lots of the population is moving this way.

The old cash only to avoid taxes is only good if you actually make a decent income to avoid said taxes.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#22

Post by ojm »

LouisSayers wrote: post #17
cyberferret wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd say those businesses will have to evolve or die out. There is a great Japanese place in our town that I stopped frequenting purely because they didn't have an EFTPOS machine, and I often have to cash on me when returning from a customer visit etc. and I wanted a snack to bring home. Since they (finally) installed one after new owners took over, I go back there frequently now. With PayWave becoming so popular for…

When they say “cash only” everyone seems to understand it means “we dodge our taxes”. But the food is usually pretty cheap. I’d say they probably won’t evolve unless they start getting prosecuted for tax avoidance...

> I’d say they probably won’t evolve unless they start getting prosecuted for tax avoidance...

Or more people no longer want to pay in cash so their sales go down dramatically.

Avoiding tax on no or low income is a lot worse than paying tax on larger profits via electronic payments.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#24

Post by Andrenid »

tgasson wrote: post #4
YogeeKnows wrote: post #2

Australians get ready for questions/requests like a. Can you please cancel OLA ride and book a ride on Uber or vice versa? #incentives #UberOLATwosome b. Cash or OLA Money?

They'll struggle to get anywhere asking for cash. Australians generally carry little to no cash around

I haven't carried cash or wallet for about a year now. All I use is my phone (CommBank app, which uses PayPass network). Whether it's a coffee, snack for my kid, weekly shopping or a night out, I can barely even remember the times I've been caught out. Maybe twice in a year. Only times I take my wallet out the door is if I'm driving (I live in Melbourne and mostly walk or take trams) or going to the Doctors or something that requires ID/Medicare.

Food trucks, weekend markets, everyone has an EFTPOS/MPOS or CommBank tablet in their business now.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#25

Post by Andrenid »

LouisSayers wrote: post #11
tgasson wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'll struggle to get anywhere asking for cash. Australians generally carry little to no cash around

In Melbourne there are so many cash only food places that you do need to carry cash - or at least know where the nearest atm is.

I absolutely love exploring all the food and coffee around Melbourne and I can't even remember the last one that didn't take PayPass. Even the market stalls and coffee carts have an MPOS or CBA tablet. Maybe a couple of super hipster places take cash only for the image, but I haven't actually found one yet.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#26

Post by madeofpalk »

LouisSayers wrote: post #12
willbw wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

New Zealand for whatever reason I used cash a lot too. Australia you can pay stuff for small sums like $1 on card almost everywhere so no point to carry cash most of the time

You can do the same in NZ - it’s called eftpos / PayPass (PayWave in Aus). Cash is rarely needed in NZ if you’re a local. If you only carry credit cards though you’re going to need some cash.

FWIW, PayPass and PayWave are the trademarked terms used by MasterCard and Visa internationally (respectively) for contactless payment

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#27

Post by sitharus »

HumanDrivenDev wrote: post #7
tgasson wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They'll struggle to get anywhere asking for cash. Australians generally carry little to no cash around

Really? As someone who has spent a long time in New Zealand it was striking to me how many places you needed cash for in Australia. EFTPOS is not ubiquitous there like it is here.

I was in Canberra for a week late last year and I never used cash, everywhere took debit cards. Some had a surcharge for using debit over eftpos but I didn't see any shops or restaurants that were cash only. Market stalls were, unlike in NZ where mobile EFTPOS is almost everywhere.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#28

Post by sitharus »

willbw wrote: post #9
HumanDrivenDev wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? As someone who has spent a long time in New Zealand it was striking to me how many places you needed cash for in Australia. EFTPOS is not ubiquitous there like it is here.

New Zealand for whatever reason I used cash a lot too. Australia you can pay stuff for small sums like $1 on card almost everywhere so no point to carry cash most of the time

Australia has regulated interchange rates so credit/debit card acceptance has been higher. Credit cards are capped at 0.8% and debit cards are lower. Mastercard published a list: https://www.mastercard.com.au/en-au/about-mastercard/what-we...

NZ's government thinks (or thought, it's changed recently) that the market would sort it out so the current rates are up to 3% for credit and 1.5% for debit, again Mastercard's list is here: https://www.mastercard.co.nz/en-nz/about-mastercard/what-we-...

EFTPOS transaction are generally fee-free for all parties.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#29

Post by paulddraper »

hayksaakian wrote: post #8
thelittleone wrote: post #3

In case, like me, you're unfamiliar with the term "Upstart" in this context. I found a few vague definitions that boil down to: Startups are entrepreneurial businesses that start with external funding. Upstarts are businesses that start without significant external funding.

I'm under the impression they're using the 'dictionary definition' rather than a specialized jargon noun a person who has risen suddenly from a humble position to wealth, power, or a position of consequence. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/upstart

Yeah, it's just the dictionary definition; the little guy trying to become big.

It's a "start up", but that term is a bit ambiguous.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#30

Post by dm8 »

YogeeKnows wrote: post #2

Australians get ready for questions/requests like a. Can you please cancel OLA ride and book a ride on Uber or vice versa? #incentives #UberOLATwosome b. Cash or OLA Money?

This forum is not like reddit for snarky/sarcastic comments. OLA folks are smart enough to cater to each individual local market. And all the drivers will be from local cities there.
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