Page 20 - bne_Magazine_February_2019

20 I Cover story bne February 2019
The digital revolution in CEE
Ben Aris in Berlin
In the 90s if you needed a cab in Moscow all it took was to hold out your hand, palm down, and within 30sec a beat up old Zhiguli would screech to a halt and, after a very brief haggle, take you anywhere you wanted. These days you can’t get a cab in Moscow unless you have a smart phone.
During the economic disaster of the
90s the common way of making a bit of money on the side to get through those difficult years was to become a gypsy cab. However, the rise of the middle class and the ubiquitous use of mobile phones have driven the explosion of the
www.bne.eu
online-line taxi business and the death of the gypsy cab.
Digital business is penetrating everything with astonishing speed. During a recent ride in a Yandex.Taxi
in Moscow the connection between my phone and my credit card was broken. The cashlessness of taxi rides these days
was brought home when the driver was unable to break a RUB1,000 note.
“Don't you have Sberbank Dengi?” the driver asked brandishing his own phone at me and referring to one of Russia’s most popular online payment services.
I didn't. At that point he gave up and let me leave the car without paying anything.
“Digital business is penetrating everything with astonishing speed”