“Can a ridesharing marketplace deepen take rates and driver retention by becoming a financial services platform for its gig workforce?”
Founded in 2012 as a peer-to-peer ridesharing app, Lyft IPO'd in 2019 as the first US ridehailing company to go public. Embedded finance entered the strategy via Lyft Direct (a driver banking + instant payouts product powered by Payfare and Stride Bank) and via expense-management integrations for its Lyft Business product. The 2024 acquisition of Freenow extended the platform into European taxi markets, where Checkout.com now powers acceptance.