Taxi aggregator Uber will now accept UPI based payments. The company has also integrated BHIM based payments onto its platform.
The integrations will take effect starting today, allowing more than 450,000 Uber drivers in India to accept digital payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the BHIM app, which is also based on the UPI model.
Riders who want to pay using UPI on Uber will need to go through a one-time registration process and link their debit cards and UPI addresses with the Uber app. UPI payments on Uber can be made natively within the Uber app by punching in their UPI MPin to verify payments. Alternatively, riders can also make Uber payments using any bank’s UPI app, including the BHIM app.
Paying for Uber Rides is now just a click away! Check out how to use UPI #UberForDigitalIndia #DigitialIndia #EasyPayments #UPI #UberIndia pic.twitter.com/Kd2dZqQwPv
— Uber India (@Uber_India) August 23, 2017
As far as Uber drivers are concerned, the company is encouraging them to use the BHIM app to accept payments.
The major benefit of BHIM over UPI is that your mobile number is your identifier. In most UPI apps you need to create a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) for payments, but BHIM defaults to a VPA with your phone number, like ‘<phonenumber>@upi’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the BHIM app back in December 2016 and the country has seen a great adoption of UPI due to the app.
Minister for IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad welcomed the move saying, “I see this initiative as a part of digital inclusion. Digital India is a transformative program for bridging the digital divide. The most important component for digital India is that we must have technologies that are inclusive. It’s good that Uber has come to India. If 400,000 plus drivers are coming on board, it is great.”
Mr. David Richter, SVP-Global Business, Uber said, "We are proud to be a partner in the government's monumental mission to create a digital payments led society and thrilled to announce UPI integration, a significant collaborative step towards unlocking the potential of fintech innovations in accelerating the growth of the nation's digital economy. Uber, like several other tech companies in India and around the world, depends on consumers being able to frequently make low value payments with minimal friction. UPI integration will bring millions of riders and driver partners into the digital payments ecosystem, offering them another secure and seamless payment interface and bolster the nation’s digital payment revolution.”
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