HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The US-based cab company Uber will accept cash payments along with credit card payments in the local market from the third quarter of this year.

Dang Viet Dung, general manager of Uber Vietnam, told a local newspaper that it would allow customers to pay cash, instead of insisting on credit card payments, which was the more popular practice worldwide.

In May, Uber tested the cash payment facility in several Indian cities. Viet Nam will be the second country to apply this payment method.

Dung said the company was planning to expand the service to two more tourist cities, Da Nang and Nha Trang.

It was also expected to introduce new services such as UberChopper or helicopter rides and UberPool or shared rides, the local media said.

Uber started operating in HCM City in July 2014, and in Ha Noi a few months later.

Though the service is still trying to find some legal support in Viet Nam, where local taxi firms are opposing its expansion based on independent drivers, the Uber Viet Nam manager said the firm recorded "very good growth" in the two cities.

It said 65 per cent of its cars were booked at a time, compared to the average of 40 per cent for other companies. — VNS