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ide-booking company Uber is reviewing the possibility of using other forms of payment than just credit cards to tap deeper into the country'€™s market, which has very low credit card penetration.

Uber regional general manager Michael Brown said on Thursday that his firm was evaluating other forms of payment so people without credit cards could also use Uber'€™s service.

'€œOur goal will be to come up with something that can be applied in multiple countries,'€ he said. Uber operated in over 277 cities across 53 countries, he added.

While refusing to disclose possible alternative payment methods, Brown commented that the mobile wallet was on the table.

Uber, which in Indonesia operates in Jakarta and Bali in partnership with licensed rental car companies, currently only accepts payment by credit card.

Indonesia'€™s credit card penetration had hit only 3.2 percent of the some 250 million population as of September last year, with about 8 million credit card users and 15.8 million cards circulating in the country.

'€œ[Even with its low credit card penetration], the demand for Uber [in Indonesia] has been great,'€ Brown said, citing that a small percentage of the country'€™s population was already a large number.

Thousands of people rode with Uber every week in Indonesia, he added.

Brown said that in addition to reviewing other payment methods to attract more users in Indonesia, his firm was developing its service to another level.

The firm began on Friday offering lower cost rides than its UberBlack brand for people living in the Jakarta area.

UberBlack, which is already in operation, uses premium cars like the Toyota Camry, while UberX will use the Toyota Avanza.

UberX also offers a cheaper rate, with a base fare of Rp 3,000 (24 US cents) and a per-kilometer-rate of Rp 2,000. This is far lower than regular taxis operating in the country.

The base fare for regular taxis in the Jakarta area was Rp 7,500, with a per km tariff of Rp 4,000, said taxi operator PT Express Transindo Utama finance director David Santoso, citing an agreement with the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda).

'€œHowever, what we are questioning is whether they [Uber] are categorized as public transportation. The authorized agency should make it as clear as possible,'€ he said.

If Uber was deemed a public transportation company, it would also need to comply with the same regulations as other transportation companies, David said.

Organda secretary-general Andriansyah said that the Transportation Ministry should soon decide whether Uber could legally operate in the country or not so the public had clarity.

Uber was previously criticized by the Jakarta administration and deemed to be threatening similar businesses (such as taxis) operating in the city. The administration said the company had to comply with the existing rules, including the requirement to obtain an operational permit and pay taxes.

Uber'€™s Brown said, however, that his firm had already held a dialog with the administration and it had explained its business model as a technology company '€” providing a mobile application '€” not as a public transportation company.