inDrive: Branching out into Financial Services

inDrive is already a renowned specialist in the fields of global mobility and urban services, making ride-hailing simple, straightforward and reasonably-priced in almost 50 countries. 

However, recognising the need to increase financial inclusion, inDrive is branching out into financial services by launching inDrive Money, an integrated product offering cash loans to drivers operating on its platform in Mexico. 

Thanks to its deep understanding of potential borrowers and seamless integration into its app, inDrive Money will enable drivers who are often excluded by traditional financial institutions to access loans from inDrive’s lending partners, including Mastercard, R2, Galileo and GIRO.

“I’ve heard time and again from drivers that it was very difficult to access lending on fair terms,” explains Arsen Tomsky, Founder and CEO at inDrive. “Today, inDrive is using technology to unlock new opportunities for drivers as a way of challenging social injustice.

“Our partnership with Mastercard, R2, Galileo, GIRO and others has enabled inDrive to bring our technology and insights to power fairer lending solutions that would otherwise not be available to drivers, who often don’t have easily predictable income streams.”

inDrive’s remarkable growth

Headquartered in California, inDrive was officially launched in 2013 as a ride-hailing service. 

Over the ensuing 11 years, the app has been downloaded more than 200 million times, and was the second most downloaded mobility app in both 2022 and 2023.

In addition to ride-hailing, inDrive provides an expanding list of urban services, including intercity transportation, freight delivery, task assistance, courier and B2B delivery. 

The extent of inDrive’s growth is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact it now operates in 749 cities across 46 countries, with regional hubs in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

What’s more, inDrive is leading the way when it comes to ESG initiatives, supporting local communities via its peer-to-peer pricing model and community empowerment programmes, which help advance education, sports, arts and sciences, gender equality and more. 

Financial inclusion for gig workers

With the aim of improving financial inclusion for gig workers in developing economies, inDrive Money is offering cash loans to drivers in partnership with an established financial institution. 

Initially this is happening in cities in Mexico, but the business is planning to expand the scope and geography of its finserv offering. 

In a recent survey carried out by inDrive, more than two-thirds (68%) of respondents in Mexico admitted they would be interested in receiving a loan. Then, during inDrive Money’s initial trial, 57% of the loans were to repeat borrowers who had already repaid their first loan.

Thanks to full integration into the inDrive app, drivers are able to apply for loans, check balances and pay back loans as they earn, with the loan repayments made directly as a portion of the commission that drivers pay to inDrive for each ride. 

It means drivers can use the app as they normally do and easily repay their loans at the same time. 

Meanwhile, inDrive is partnering with other institutions to offer credit cards to drivers in Monterrey, and is also in the process of developing additional products that will give drivers in-app access to a full suite of essential modern financial services.

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