ofo urges users to transfer deposits to online loan platform for deposit-free rides

Bike rental firm ofo today (November 23) began urging its users to transfer their existing deposits in the app to online loan platform PPmoney as part of a commercial agreement with the lender, our sister site is reporting.

ofo last year increased its deposits for new users from RMB 99 ($14) to RMB 199, though existing users were not affected. Now, riders who have not upgraded to the new deposit tier have been presented with an in-app pop up prompting them to convert their RMB 99 deposit to a RMB 100 asset in the PPmomey ecosystem in order to enjoy deposit free rides. Users who do not want to take part can refund their deposits, according to the company.

PPmoney then has a 30-day lock-in period in which users don’t have access to their money. However, the company claims that once the time has lapsed, users can withdraw the deposit with interest.

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