India to get Uber Money by 2020, first of six countries globally

Uber recently launched its Uber Money to get a foothold in the burgeoning digital payments market. This unit will have a team working with the parent company to create financial products and technologies that support its drivers and delivery couriers.

One reason for the global ride hailing company to launch Uber Money is to tackle the issue of delayed payments to its fleet. This has been a bone of contention for the company in many countries, including in India.

Earlier, its global network of 4-million drivers and Uber Eats couriers would get payments on a weekly basis or by cashing out using Instant Pay. The company claimed that with Uber Money, they will get “real-time access to their earnings after every trip or delivery through the Uber Debit account.” Additionally, the digital wallet offers drivers overdraft facility, debit and credit cards, and 5 percent cashback on other Uber services.

Uber has been facing increasing competition from other ride-hailing companies in various geographies. By building a financial ecosystem for its driver and delivery ecosystem, it hopes to ensure better loyalty from drivers to its platform.

Interestingly, India will be amongst the first six countries where Uber Money would be launched within eight months. Based on National Payments Corp of India's UPI real-time payment system, it hopes to foster better financial inclusion amongst its drivers, who still prefer taking cash for rides.

In the US, Uber is also relaunching the Uber Credit Card, in partnership with Barclays. It had introduced this card two years ago. Users can spend across various services on the Uber platform, including Uber Eats, Uber Rides and JUMP bikes to receive 5 percent cashback in Uber Cash. "We are updating the no-monthly-fee Uber Debit Account, powered by Green Dot, to integrate seamlessly into the Uber Driver app. We also want to make every dollar earned on Uber go further, which is why the refreshed Uber Debit Card will launch with cash back on gas starting at 3 percent and up to 6 percent for the highest tier of Uber Pro drivers," wrote Peter Hazlehurst, Head of Uber Money in a blog post.

Uber said that the digital wallet will allow drivers to “easily track their earning and spending history, manage and move their money, and discover new Uber financial products in one place.” It added that this mobile banking utility will start rolling out in the Uber driver app in the coming weeks, followed by the Uber Eats app.

Interestingly, Uber was the founding member of Libra cryptocurrency project. But it has decided to steer clear of this virtual currency for its foray into financial products, as it seeks to generate new revenue streams.