Uber Adds “App-Free” Ride Kiosks for World Cup Tourists as Arrivals Surge

Uber said it is rolling out physical payment kiosks so international visitors can book and pay for rides in the US without the Uber app or a local data plan. The first kiosk was installed in December at LaGuardia Airport. Uber says more kiosks will be placed at airports, hotels, and ports in the coming months, ahead of the tournament travel peak.

Why Uber is doing it

The goal is to remove a common “arrival-day” problem: many tourists land with roaming turned off, weak WiFi, a dead phone battery, or no time to download apps and set up payments. Uber says the kiosk works like the app: you enter your destination, choose a ride type, pay by card, and get a printed receipt that the driver scans. For airports and hotels, that can mean fewer confused visitors and smoother ground-transport flows during high-demand event weeks.

More kiosks and wider payment options

Uber is tying the rollout to FIFA World Cup travel demand this summer, when host cities expect a major influx of international fans.

At the same time, Uber and Adyen announced an expanded partnership to support more local payment methods and new markets, and to power these kiosk terminals. That includes options that can help visitors pay the way they normally do, such as WeChat Pay via the WeChat mini app, while US cities also prepare broader transport plans for mega-events.

Uber and Lyft have each partnered with Baidu to run robotaxi pilot programs in London in the first half of 2026, another step toward making rides simpler for visitors.