Mobike drops requirement to make a deposit to hire its bikes

The newly released Mobike E-bike. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

Mobike, one of China's leading share bike companies, announced on Thursday that users will no longer need to pay a deposit to use its services.

The move comes after deposit-free signups were introduced in most of the country's second-tier cities. 

The company is the first share bike service provider in China to remove the requirement to pay a deposit. 

Mobike said that users who had already paid a deposit can apply to have it returned by using the Mobike app. The deposit will be refunded into the user's linked bank account within a week.

At a promotional event for the company on Thursday, Mobike also released a new product called "Mobike E-bike", electric-powered mopeds that can reach speeds of up to 20 kilometers an hour.