Micromobility = Macro Payout Problems?

If you live in a large urban area today, it’s pretty likely that you’ve heard about micromobility. E-scooters, shared bikes, and in some places, electric trikes, are trying to solve the last mile of individual transportation in our increasingly congested cities. These services have clearly resonated with users and investors alike: more than $5.7 billion has been poured into this space since 2015.

Scooting Up the Growth Curve

The thing that’s most impressive about micromobility companies is just how quickly they are able to grow and push consumer adoption. In the McKinsey article referenced above, it’s noted that micromobility companies have managed to attract their current user base roughly 2-3x times faster than either car sharing or ride hailing. This growth has, unsurprisingly, also created some growing pains. Besides operational issues, we here at Hyperwallet have been hearing from many providers that payments are a critical piece of the micromobility puzzle, especially as they expand to new countries. Support for local payment methods, ability to accommodate micro-transactions, and global coverage are items that typically rise to the top of the requirements list. Moreover, most companies in this space have fairly complex payments flows that include not only incoming payments from consumers, but also outbound payments to independent workers who help charge and service the fleet.

Solving Micromobility Payout Pains for Lime

Let’s look at a specific example. Hyperwallet recently announced that it is handling outbound payments on behalf of Lime, a global leader in this micromobility space that brings easy and affordable urban transportation to people in 100+ cities around the world. Lime uses Hyperwallet’s platform to quickly and easily send payments to its growing global community of “Juicers,” a network of freelancers who charge the company’s fleet of scooters. When Lime first approached Hyperwallet, it was because they had a number of specific requirements in mind when it came to tackling their payout needs. First, the company wanted to ensure that their Juicers could be paid quickly and conveniently. This meant finding a provider that could offer multiple payout methods. Additionally, Lime needed a payout provider capable of facilitating local funds disbursements to multiple geographies, like in Latin America, where the company is growing rapidly in populous cities like Bogota and Montevideo.

With Hyperwallet, Lime was able to satisfy both of these requirements: not only can the company provide payout options that suit the preferences of Juicers both in the US and abroad, Hyperwallet’s payout method optionality ensures that Juicers can collect their funds using their preferred method.

In conclusion, the team here at Hyperwallet is proud to be contributing to this exciting transportation innovation. Helping micromobility companies like Lime provide fast local payments to the tens of thousands of independent Juicers is just one of the many exciting new use cases we’re tackling via our platform approach to payouts.

Curious to see what our payout platform can do for your business? Get in touch at with our team of payment experts to learn more about our payout capabilities.