How to Remove a Card from Lyft?
Before we can look at how to remove a card from Lyft, let's first look at exactly what Lyft is.
What is Lyft?
Lyft, is a primarily American transportation provider. It comes in the form of an app that can be installed through most app stores on both Android and iOS, and it is rather popular with more than 10 Million downloads on Google Play.
In other words, it is a ridesharing company, very similar to Uber. How it differs from its main competitor is mainly in pricing, with Lyft being a few cents cheaper than its competition. Lyft also seems to be far more casual than Uber, with not as many high end options.
Lyft, like many other rideshare apps, does not allow cash purchases, like a regular taxi would, but insist that all payments be made through the app, with a credit card or various other payment methods.
However, despite its popularity, it does not seem to have been able to communicate well with its users about certain functionalities, such as how to remove a card from Lyft.
There are a variety of different reasons why someone would want to remove their card. It might be that the card has expired, or that they no longer wish to use the services of the company, or just that they do not feel safe with their payment information being stored in such a way.
But, for most users, it seems as if removing a card from Lyft is impossible. And that is because it is.
Lyft does not allow users to remove a credit or debit card that it set as its default payment option, and you cannot remove the card from its status as the default payment option unless you replace it with something else.
But, that does not mean that people have not found ways to remove their card information from Lyft. Let's look at a few ways that some have managed to do so.
How to Remove a Card from Lyft
1. Add a New Card First
This method is suitable if you only want to remove your card from Lyft because it has expired or you have a new one.
It is rather simple to add a new card. Simply click on the three dots in the top left corner, three lines on Android, and select Payment methods, completing the relevant information from there.
Once you have done so you will find the option to delete your old card suddenly appears in the form of a red cross.
However, this is not necessarily a suitable method if you do not want your information stored on Lyft at all.
2. Wait for Your Card to Expire
If you do not have very long left before your card expires, then waiting for it to do so might be easier than trying to remove your card from Lyft. It could be a few months in which you may be uncomfortable due to the fact that a company that you do not trust has your valuable information, but it is easier, and cheaper than all the other options.
3. Cancel your Card
The faster version of waiting for your card to expire, although some might argue that it is overkill. However, some might have their reasons.
This is a perfectly valid way to remove your card from Lyft if you suspect that your card has been stolen, or you suspect that another person has managed to get into your Lyft account and is using your card to get around.
It is important to keep in mind that canceling and replacing your card might, at times, come at some additional cost to you. So, if it is not a case of fraud, it might be best to weigh up just how much you value information privacy.
4. Buying a Gift Card
Much like its competition, Uber, Lyft offer gift cards which can be bought at a variety of physical locations, although availability may vary. Some of the places that these gift cards might be found include convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, and larger grocery stores such as Kroger, Walmart and more.
The smallest amount that can usually be bought on a gift card is $25, so it is important to keep this price in mind.
Alternatively, if you are having trouble finding a gift card in stores, you are able to buy an electronic version on Amazon for yourself or for your friends and family. Simply insert the amount that you wish to buy, and the email and name of the recipient. An electronic gift card will then be sent via email.
Once the gift card has been bought, it can be redeemed by tapping the menu icon in the top left of the screen, followed by payment methods, and then following the relevant steps. The money that has been redeemed will then show up as 'Lyft Cash,' which can be chosen as a primary payment method, allowing you to delete your card information.
This money can not be used for anything other than the Lyft app, and there is no way to get a refund.
5. Adding a PayPal Account
If you do not want to pay anything to get rid of your card information then you can always add a PayPal account. Although this may seem counter intuitive, as it seems as if you are simply swapping one set of information for another, that is not necessarily the case.
When you open a PayPal account, all that you need is an email address. Bank accounts as well as a variety of other information that you might think is critical are not needed at first. If it is simply a case of you wanting to remove an old card, then you can easily link an active PayPal account. But if your worries are regarding personal information then it is easy to open a PayPal account with a Gmail account that you can create without entering any personal details. Once this account has been linked to your Lyft account and made the default payment option, you will be able to delete the card, and then should be able to close the PayPal account without needing to go through Lyft.
This is one of the most cost effective ways of removing a card when you do not intend on adding another, and do not want to release any private information.
6. Closing your Account
If you do not intend to use your Lyft account again at all, whether it is because you were not pleased with the service that it provided or any other reason, then it might be better just to close the account. Many people do not even realize that this is an option, simply because of how difficult it has been made to find.
- First, tap on the menu at the top left of the screen again, and then click on help
- Then Profile and Account should be available
- Lastly Delete my Account.
However, some people are not very impressed with the forces of deleting an account. Lyft can take as long as 45 days to delete an account, and then it is not actually deleted, but deactivated.
This means that Lyft still has all of your information and although they have to comply with certain privacy laws, that does not mean that they are impervious to hacking and information being leaked in various methods.
So, if you truly are done with Lyft, and you are concerned about your privacy, then it might be best to combine this step with one of the others listed above.
How to Remove a Card from Lyft: Conclusion
Although it at first appears as if it is impossible to remove a card from Lyft there are a variety of different ways that this can be done.
If you want to continue using the App, and are satisfied with its services, then it is important to note that you just need to add your new payment information first, before you will be able to remove the old.
However, Lyft has made it almost impossible for those who are concerned about their privacy and about their information to be completely satisfied with their online safety.
Even though there are some methods that have been thought of that get around giving the company more information in order to remove the old information, there is no guarantee that the information is not still being stored by Lyft, even though it is deleted from the app. Even closing the account does not delete the information.
This has led to a series of complaints and questions about the app. But regardless of how angry or scared people are about their information, there seems to be nothing that they can do about it. It is important to remember never to give your information out to a company that you do not trust, even if you just want to try them out once or twice.
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