Cargo Expands Commerce in Ride-Hails Through Venmo Partnership for Payments
*By Tracey Cheek*
According to Cargo's CEO and founder, his latest partnership with Venmo "was such a no-brainer."
Cargo is essentially an in-car vending machine ー a box containing snacks and personal items for purchase installed on the center console of some Uber and Lyft vehicles.
According to CEO Jeff Cripe, since so many riders were dividing their Uber and Lyft fares with Venmo, it made sense to make Venmo the payment option for their in-car purchases. Now, Venmo-happy millennials can purchase Cargo items through the app during their rides.
"Tons and tons of Venmo transactions were actually peer-to-peer to pay for Ubers, so it made sense for them to add that," Cripe told Cheddar Friday.
"Obviously that means adoption of our consumers who are primarily millennials in the back of those cars would prefer that as a form of payment to transact for goods in their rides."
Since its launch in 2017, Cargo has grown to $30 million in venture funding. The in-car commerce company plans on continuing to grow its presence in key ridesharing markets in the new year.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/cargo-meets-venmo-in-car-commerce-just-got-easier).
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